Atlanta Falcons: Thank you, Thomas Dimitroff

Regardless of what some may say, the Atlanta Falcons were successful under Thomas Dimitroff’s tenure as General Manager.

Say what you will about how the Thomas Dimitroff era ended, but he deserves some praise and respect for how he helped lead the Atlanta Falcons to its most successful era ever. Sure, there were back-to-back 7-9 seasons, and this season has been an absolute train wreck, but that doesn’t mean that we should look back at his tenure with anger and regret.

After all, this team made it to the Super Bowl for the first time in 18 years and could have gone back the next season had it not been for the remarkable run the Philadelphia Eagles put together that year.

Thomas Dimitroff’s tenure with the Atlanta Falcons started off strong.

Coming into the organization in 2008, he made an immediate impact by selecting Matt Ryan in the first round and signing longtime San Diego Chargers back up running back Michael Turner. Both guys were instrumental in turning the Atlanta Falcons around and making them into playoff contenders every year.

Over the next several seasons, the team found consistent success for the first time in the organization’s history. Dimitroff continued to try and build the team, but after a while, things went south quickly, and coaching changes were made.

The 2016 NFL Draft was a turning point for the team that helped to turn the Atlanta Falcons back into contenders, but every draft since has seen many questionable decisions take place, as well as free agency singings.

Dimitroff did a lot of great things for the Atlanta Falcons, but he also made many mistakes that caused the team to take major steps back over the last couple of seasons. As fans, we feel mixed about Dimitroff, however, I believe we should show him some gratitude because he is a big reason why the Atlanta Falcons won 56 games from 2008-2012, and why the Atlanta Falcons were able to reach Super Bowl 51.

There was a lot of good, and a lot of bad, but there is no question that Dimitroff helped bring some great times to this organization and fanbase, and, because of that, I say thank you. Now it is once again time to find a general manager who can turn the Atlanta Falcons back into a Super Bowl contender.