Falcon GM almost Canuck, eh?
Dimitroff Jr. raised, played in Canada
Maybe it was fitting that an NFL writer from Canada interviewed the Canadian- raised general manager of the Atlanta Falcons in a hockey arena.
Well, not really an arena. A rinky- dink rink, by Canadian standards: an iceless ice pad in a suburban shopping mall, across from an American Girl store and the Panera Bread eatery.
Still, you could almost smell the hockey equipment when Thomas Dimitroff Jr. sat down to talk on Thursday.
Born in Ohio, Dimitroff was raised from age eight in Ontario. First in Ottawa for four years, then in Burlington, where Tom Dimitroff Sr. coached the nearby Hami l ton Tiger- Cats and the Guelph Gryphons before moving on to scouting. He died in 1996.
Thomas, now 50, said his mother Helen won’t be able to attend Sunday’s game.
“She had a little bit of a health scare because she was so fired up last game ... (but) she’ll be fine. She’s excited.”
Dimitroff reflected on his family and more on Thursday, when asked about his path to the Super Bowl:
Q: Have you had time to talk with your mom and take stock in this moment?
A: I think she always comes back to the idea of reaching toward the summit of what is so special for anyone in football. My dad never had the opportunity to be around the Super Bowl, at any position, scout or coach. I’ve had the opportunity to be around it before, as a personnel director (with the New England Patriots, 2003- 04). And now on this rocky journey, here we are approaching the summit of a really important and special time, in my career, yes, but most importantly for our team.
Q: After graduating from the University of Guelph in 1990, where you were an award-winning defensive back, you said you wanted to be a football coach — particularly, a defensive coach. How did you wind up as the Canadian college scout for the Saskatchewan Roughriders?
A: It’s funny, because I had known Dan Rambo over the years. Dan would come through Guelph and scout our team. And I’d talk to him because of his connection with my father. At that point, we’d touch base. He’d mention, ‘If you’re ever interested in getting into personnel, let me know.’ But my head wasn’t there at that time, while I was playing. I thought the best thing for me, because I love defence so much — and because I was raised in a family with a hard-nosed, tough, tough, driven coach — was I wanted to be a part of creating, honestly, the most bad-ass defence I could ever create. I wanted to be a defensive co-ordinator ... Q: So it was Dan who offered you that first scouting job? A: Yes. He said, ‘Give it a shot.’ So I went out there, and I remember making $16,000 a year and not having a car. Riding my bike back and forth through the winters of Saskatchewan. I was based in Regina. I mean, I was a scout but I was a lackey. I did everything they needed me to do from a personnel standpoint. Teams in the CFL, you know, are so much more scaled down from what they’re doing here in the NFL. Q: Fast-forward to 2013, 2014. You’d built up the Falcons since 2008 to the point in 2012 when you’re in the NFC championship game, but just miss beating the San Francisco 49ers. During the disappointing seasons of ’13 and ’14, were you concerned that your chance to reach the Super Bowl had passed you by? A: We had a really fun run in ’12, coming up 10 yards short. But I think going into that year ... I felt we had some really good football players there, and Mike Smith was a hell of a football coach, and I thought we were doing well. But we still had our ups and downs at that point. I didn’t feel we were a team that was 100 per cent going to get this done. I felt it was more of, ‘Wow, we’re here. Let’s see how this works out.’ And that’s not being derogatory toward anyone. I guess contrast that to where we are now. I think this team has a real belief in itself. I think the arrow definitely points up.
Q: Your first head coach here was Mike Smith, a defensive coach. And your second head coach, Dan Quinn, is defensive-minded. Coincidence or by design?
A: It is by design. You and other people in Canada know me in a different way than some of the people in the United States. People that played with me knew of my desire to play defence, and fly around, and my style. And making up for some of my lack of size and speed was maybe aggressiveness and urgency. Because I believe that. All my life I was taught that from a father who was a hard-nosed, direct, tough SOB. I mean he was tough ... so that was already a big part of my philosophy. Smitty and I hit if off very well. Dan Quinn and I hit it off very well, understanding — interestingly enough — that we had to build an offence, as much as we could, that was going to be a juggernaut. That’s always been what I’ve thought since we started here in ’08 with Mike. We were going to build around (quarterback) Matt Ryan. It’s taken a while to get to this spot where he’s as prolific as he is, and our offence is. But that’s where we were building to ... I think we’re back where we have that offence that can really help us bring along that really young, fighting defence, which is vital to me.