After an unconventional scouting career during which he camped in a VW Van between college visits--and a Skype interview for the Atlanta Falcons’ vacant general manager job in 2008 that reflected his underdog status--Thomas Dimitroff surprisingly landed the gig and ascended to the upper echelon of his profession. During his 13-season tenure, which ended with his firing last fall, Dimitroff built the Falcons into a consistent winner and took the franchise to the verge of its first championship before an unfathomable Tom Brady comeback spoiled Atlanta’s Super Bowl LI experience. In a wide-ranging conversation with a journalist he knows well (and that journalist’s counterculture-embracing daughter), Dimitroff takes us on a journey that includes a Hole In One at Augusta National, an epic (and possibly wine-fueled) zip-line mishap and the infamous “counseling sessions” that bridged the relationship divide between Kyle Shanahan and Matt Ryan.
Dimitroff shares vagabond stories from his scouting days, recalling how his VW van came in handy in the wake of 9/11--and how his dying father’s advice convinced him not to get caught up in being overly conventional. He explains the aggressive mindset that fueled his 2011 draft-night trade for wide receiver Julio Jones, and he revisits quarterback Matt Ryan’s choppy first year with offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and the relationship-repair efforts that fueled the Falcons’ Super Bowl LI run. Dimitroff then relives the horror of that evening in Houston during which his team blew a 28-3 lead, botched a chance to kick a game-securing field goal and watched Tom Brady lead the New England Patriots to an incredible comeback that still haunts the franchise.