New England Patriots Director of College Scouting Thomas Dimitroff has been named the new general manager of the Atlanta Falcons.Â
Dimitroff was one of six candidates for the job that included Philadelphia Eagles general manager Tom Heckert, Chris Mara who is the New York Giants president of player evaluation, a pair of Green Bay scouting officials, director of pro personnel Reggie McKenzie and personnel analyst John Schneider, as well as Indianapolis Colts vice president of football operations, Chris Polian.
Dimitroff, replaces former general manager Rich McKay who stepped down from that position but will continue as the team president, and his first order of business will be to help in the selection of a new head coach.
Dimitroff has been with the Patriots for six years. He joined the franchise in 2002 as a national scout and then was named director of college scouting a year later.  He also worked nine seasons in the scouting departments of the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns.
Dimitroff isn’t a sexy selection for the general manager’s job but he is widely respected as a talent evaluator and that should help the Falcons greatly as they try to rebuild.
