One of the more surprising candidates that interviewed for the Tennessee Titans' GM job last month was former Atlanta Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff.
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Dimitroff came from a scouting background, spending a decade as an area and national scout before rising to prominence as the Director of College Scouting for the New England Patriots from 2003-2007. That's the heart of the dynasty.
Commanders GM Adam Peters, former Lions GM Bob Quinn, and former Titans GM Jon Robinson all worked under Dimitroff in New England. It's no wonder the Falcons poached him to be their GM in 2008.
Dimitroff was named the NFL Executive of the Year in his first season with the Falcons and would help put together six seasons with 10+ wins and six playoff appearances for Atlanta. He assembled the 2016 Falcons team that held a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl before choking it away in overtime.
Since being let go in 2020, Dimitroff has been the CEO of a sports analytics company. That's why his interview for Tennessee's GM vacancy was such a surprise. Dimitroff did an interview from Super Bowl media week with 3HL on 104.5 The Zone to recap that interview process and what his pitch was to Amy Adams Strunk.
Shockingly, Dimitroff's plan that he pitched the Titans involved keeping Will Levis as the team's starting quarterback in 2025 and trading the 1st overall pick.
Wanting to keep Will Levis
"The Titans are in that spot with a quarterback situation that's complicated. The Will Levis thing is obviously one that came up in the conversation," said Dimitroff of his interview for the Titans GM job.
During his interview, Dimitroff says he brought up the right side of the offensive line and tight ends as priorities he wanted to address as a means of helping Levis (or another young quarterback) succeed. When Dimitroff was in Atlanta, the Falcons aided Matt Ryan by signing Tony Gonzalez in free agency. Dimitroff believes that dynamic and reliable tight ends help young quarterbacks get some high percentage looks in the passing game, which goes a long way towards their development.
While it can be tempting to jump at the opportunity to take Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders with the 1st overall pick, Dimitroff said that he would have been looking to trade back. He does not believe that Sanders and Ward are worthy of being the first two selections of the draft. He does not have them in the same bucket as Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams were in a year ago.
"If you're sitting at the number one pick overall, personally I think you can move back. My nickname was Trader Thomas," said Dimitroff, who then said that he would keep Will Levis at quarterback and try to build the roster around him for another year. "There are nuances to Will Levis. Do you continue to build that offensive line, build that run game, take the damn pressure off that guy and give him one more year to show?"
Dimitroff didn't seem to like the idea of signing Sam Darnold for $40 million in AAV. He also said that "when you pick because of needs, you make mistakes." In some ways, he's right on the nose. The Titans roster is really far away from competing right now. That's evidenced in their 3-14 record from the 2024 season.
There's a legitimate argument to be made for Tennessee to use the first overall pick for total roster support instead of a young QB. But does that mean you simply run it back with Levis? It's hard for me to see it.
