High atop the list of most excellent executives in the NFL this year – right up there alongside legendary league luminary Bill Parcells – is a former University of Guelph student who once served as a not-so-glorified gopher for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Were it not for the worst-to-first ascent of Parcells’ Miami Dolphins, in fact, Thomas Dimitroff would be a shoo-in as the NFL’s top exec of 2008.
Last January, Dimitroff accepted an offer to become the Atlanta Falcons’ general manager, a position established NFLers flat-out rejected. The reason was that the Falcons were dogged – you should pardon the expression – by unprecedented nightmares last year. They were 4-12. Their franchise quarterback – Michael Vick – was jailed because of his role in a dogfighting
ring. Their coach, Bob Petrino, quit after 13 games to return to college football.
Desperate, owner Arthur Blank turned to Dimitroff, who was scouting for the New England Patriots. Dimitroff hired Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Mike Smith as coach, acquired running back Michael Turner as a free agent and chose quarterback Matt Ryan third overall in the NFL draft.
All three flourished and, on Sunday, the Falcons qualified for the post-season.
“Never thought this could happen this year, never,” Blank said after Atlanta’s playoff-clinching triumph in Minnesota. "This is the season of miracles, thanks to Thomas.”
Those of us who followed the CFL closely in the late 1990s knew Dimitroff as a poorly paid (about $16,000 a year) front-office employee in Saskatchewan.
After an ordinary stint as a defensive halfback at Guelph, he joined the Riders for odd jobs, ranging from ticket sales to promotions.
Football was in his blood. His father was a football lifer. Tom Dimitroff coached and scouted in the CFL and NFL before dying of kidney cancer in 1996. The junior Dimitroff grew up in Ontario as his dad coached in Ottawa and Hamilton. Tom Sr. continually advised his son to chase his GM dreams by paying his dues. Thus, Thomas did the Ordinary Joe Jobs in Saskatchewan, the World League of American Football, a Japanese league and then in Cleveland, where he spent much of his time literally painting the Browns’ football field.
At 42, Dimitroff is through with behind-the-scenes work in football. He’s front and centre in Atlanta, toast of the town, architect of an awfully surprising playoff team.
“I gave Thomas years to rebuild our team,” Blank said, “and he did it in months. He’s a special guy. We’re very proud of him. Canada should be proud of him, too.”
Marty York is Metro's national sports columnist as well as an instructor at the College of Sports Media in Toronto. He can be heard regularly on Vancouver radio station CKNW with Sportstalk host Dan Russell. Contact Marty at marty.york@metronews.ca
