Odds of Thomas Dimitroff Becoming Next Lions General Manager
Former Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff is in the market for a new NFL front-office job.
Could it come with the Lions?
Let's take a closer look.
Dimitroff, who served as the general manager of the Falcons from 2008 until his dismissal in 2020, has held a job in the league each and every single year since 1993 when he served as a part-time scout for the Kansas City Chiefs.
He followed that up with a stint in Detroit (1994-97) as an area scout for the team.
He kept garnering experience in the scouting world, with stops with the Cleveland Browns (1998-2001) and the New England Patriots (2002-07), before landing in Atlanta.
During his time in New England -- his longest stint in the NFL prior to joining the Falcons -- he ultimately became the organization's director of college scouting.
Now, let's address the giant "elephant" in the room.
Former Lions head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn spent a significant portion of their respective professional careers working for Bill Belichick and the Patriots.
In fact, Dimitroff's tenure in Foxborough, Mass., overlapped with the New England tenures of both Patricia and Quinn.
Patricia, who got his start with Belichick in 2004, served in multiple roles, including as defensive coordinator, with the organization before being hired by the Lions in 2018.
Meanwhile, Quinn, who got his start with the Patriots in 2000, had a variety of jobs with the franchise, before eventually rising to the position of director of pro scouting -- his last gig before landing the Detroit GM job in 2016.
The failures of Patricia and Quinn in Motown -- two proud former Patriots employees -- have likely "poisoned" the waters for anyone else with ties to the organization.
Additionally, there's a chance that it dissuades Lions principal owner Sheila Ford Hamp and team president Rod Wood from hiring Dimitroff, despite his resume full of accomplishments with the Falcons.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank (left) and Dimitroff talk on the sidelines during a game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Dale Zanine, USA TODAY Sports
His time in Atlanta included seven winning seasons in parts of 13 years, to go along with six postseason berths, two NFC Championship Game appearances and a trip to Super Bowl LI (a 34-28 loss to the then-Tom Brady-led Patriots).
Overall wise, he guided the Falcons to a 109-87 record (not including results since he was fired, along with then-head coach Dan Quinn, after the team's 0-5 start to '20).
In his first five seasons on the job, the organization went 56-24.
However, in his final eight years as Atlanta's lead front-office decision-maker, the team went just 53-64, and recorded only two winning campaigns.
It's definitely not the biggest positive on the 54-year-old's job application.
Dimitroff has already interviewed for Detroit's general manager vacancy, though. And, he's a "proven" GM -- which is one part to the equation for Hamp in her search for the team's next head coach/GM duo.
So, he certainly has a shot at landing the gig.
With all things considered, including his strong Patriots background (a potential deterrent), I give him a 40 percent chance of becoming the next Lions general manager.
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