The New York Jets have interviewed a big name in their general manager search.
Gang Green announced on social media in a press release that they “have completed an interview with Thomas Dimitroff for our General Manager vacancy.”
Dimitroff Has an Impressive Resume as a League Executive
The Jets have begun their general manager search in earnest this week with people who aren’t currently tied to an NFL team.
Dimitroff, 58, has worked in football since 1990. He started his journey in the scouting world for the Canadian Football League and eventually the World League of American Football [NFL Europe].
After that, he became a scout in the NFL for four different teams from 1993 through 2002. He was then promoted to the director of college scouting for the New England Patriots and served in that role from 2003 through 2007.
During his time with the Patriots, he won a pair of Super Bowl rings. After that tenure, he was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as their general manager in 2008 and stayed in that role through 2020.
Dimitroff was twice named the NFL Executive of the Year for his accomplishments with the Falcons (2008 and 2010).
“In his first draft with the Falcons, he grabbed Boston College QB Matt Ryan with the No. 3 overall selection. From 2008-12, the Falcons had five consecutive winning seasons and went to the playoffs four times while claiming the NFC South division title twice. Then, after changing coaches from Mike Smith to Dan Quinn, the Falcons advanced to the Super Bowl at the end of the 2016 NFL season and the divisional round of the playoffs in January 2016 and in 2017,” Jets reporter Eric Allen said. “Dimitroff’s tenure in Atlanta included a blockbuster trade in 2011 when he packaged five draft picks to the Cleveland Browns to select Alabama WR Julio Jones with the No. 6 overall pick. When Jones departed Atlanta in 2021 in a trade to the Titans, the future Hall of Famer left as the franchise’s reception (848) and yardage leaders (12,896) and is No. 2 in TD receptions (63).”
If Jets Value Experience Dimitroff Is a Great Option
Head coaches get multiple chances at the NFL level. The same can’t be said for general managers. Typically you get one whack at the pinata and after you succeed or fail then it’s over.
The Jets have had plenty of swings and misses on first timers at both head coach and general manager. If the brass values experience, Dimitroff would be a super appealing option.
He is a longtime NFL scout, a longtime general manager, and he had a ton of success in both fields.
Dimitroff hasn’t been involved with an NFL team since 2020, but he hasn’t sat idle either.
“In January 2022, Dimitroff helped [create] a football analytics company named SumerSports. The company says its aim is to provide ‘the best in class quantitative analysis aimed at creating precision in player acquisition and roster management in the NFL,’” according to the Jets press release.
It is a deep resume that features experience, history, and a nod to the analytical world that has taken over the NFL in recent years.
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