Skip to content

Falcons GM Dimitroff: 'Of course I'm on the hot seat'

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said his job security will be in peril if the Falcons don't make the playoffs this season.

"Of course I'm on the hot seat," Dimitroff told the Talk of Fame Network. "Every year I'm on the hot seat. I believe that 100 percent. I believe anyone who doesn't think they are maybe just won a Super Bowl. But I think most of us know that it's a very urgent league now."

The idea that every year could be a coach or general manager's last in the NFL is something you hear frequently from front office personnel, but it's likely Dimitroff knows he's truly in danger of being fired.

Once considered one of the rising stars in management, Dimitroff has assembled Falcons squads that won four, six, and eight games over the past three seasons, and each failed to make the playoffs.

Dimitroff said he believes this year's Falcons have the players needed to get back to the playoffs and save his job.

"I think we have a really interesting nucleus. I like our talent, I like our speed, I like our athleticism," he said. "We are becoming more and more adept as the months go on understanding the systems that have been brought into Atlanta. We're a run-and-hit 4-3 defense that obviously (head coach) Dan Quinn knows inside out.

"I really believe there's some high energy on this team that's going to help us a lot. And I think an extra year under our belt in this system, on the offensive side under Kyle Shanahan and on the defense is going to help us a great deal."

- With h/t to NFL.com

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox