Thomas Dimitroff: Entering 2015 Already on the Hot Seat?

Thomas Dimitroff may have survived the firing of former partner HC Mike Smith, but with his new Head Coach Dan Quinn questioning the personnel, is TD already on the hot seat as the Atlanta Falcons GM before the start of 2015?

According to former NFL Scout and current College Scouting of the Montreal Alouettes, Atlanta Falcons HC Dan Quinn is not satisfied with the player personnel department of his new football team. Remember that Falcons Owner Arthur Blank opted to keep both GM Thomas Dimitroff and Assistant GM Scott Pioli after firing former HC Mike Smith this winter.

This is very odd to hear this kind of rumor before the start of a football season, but it oddly makes some sense given that the Atlanta Falcons are still very much in flux on the offensive line with three days before the Monday Night home opener.

I thought that Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff had a strong working relationship since Quinn’s February hiring. The duo seemed to have a strong 2015 NFL Draft and found some UDFA gems like RB Terron Ward and DB Robenson Therezie. But the hair pulling moves, and lack thereof, with regard to the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive line is apparently causing friction in Flowery Branch.

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While Russell Lande didn’t specifically say that Quinn wants a new GM, rather a new voice in the front office, is Thomas Dimitroff already on the hot seat? The answer leans very heavily towards yes.

Perhaps 2015 was a one-year trial to see if Quinn and Dimitroff could click, just to prove to Blank that Smitty was the sole issue with the Falcons’ recent demise, not Thomas Dimitroff. However upon further inspection of Thomas Dimitroff’s drafts, especially on the offensive line, there are major concerns about the GM position of the Atlanta Falcons.

This offseason Atlanta has now cut three 4th Round or better draft selections made by Thomas Dimitroff on the offensive line. Sam Baker was a 1st Rounder in 2008, Peter Konz came to Atlanta in the 2nd Round of 2012, and Joe Hawley was a 4th Round pick in 2010.

Only one starter on the Atlanta Falcons offensive line in 2015 came to the team through the Draft, LT Jake Matthews with the 6th overall pick in 2014. RT Ryan Schraeder was an UDFA and C Mike Person, G Chris Chester, and G Andy Levitre were members of other organizations last year. The Falcons front office also chose to not sign G Evan Mathis, OT Gosder Cherilus, and most surprisingly OT Jake Long when the offensive line is one of the worst in football.

Naturally the only offensive lineman taken by the Atlanta Falcons in the Quinn-Dimitroff Era didn’t make the team in OT Jake Rodgers, a 7th round pick out of Eastern Washington. It must feel frustrating to have great weapons in all three phases of the game, but not the necessary glue guys to hold it all together.

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The weird part about this rumor is that I felt that Thomas Dimitroff was safe from the hot seat for at least another two years. That way there would be a sufficient sample size of he and Quinn’s working relationship that Arthur Blank could judge. If Blank wanted to make a clean break, he could before his Atlanta Falcons move into new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017 by naming a new GM.

While record is usually indicative of a head coach’s status with the team, the GM gig is a little harder to tell. Would Thomas Dimitroff be in good standing if the Falcons make the Playoffs? Does he get rewarded for making the right calls this year, even if the team finishes with a worst record than last season?

One thing is certain: now that the rumor is in circulation, Thomas Dimitroff’s name is now associated with the dreaded hot seat for 2015. Unless Atlanta goes on a 1998 Super Bowl run in 2015, I figure that TD’s seat stays at least warm for the entire 2015 NFL Season.

Next: Atlanta Falcons: Dan Quinn, Matt Ryan Preview Philadelphia

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