If you got in a van and took a road trip around the NFL landscape, you'd be bound to encounter a few bitter rivalries. So that's exactly what Thomas Dimitroff did.
The two-time NFL Executive of the Year found himself out of a job in 2021 after a dozen seasons leading the front office of the Atlanta Falcons. So he chose to spend that time interviewing 16 current GMs for what he's now debuted as his new podcast, "The GM Journey."
And it was only fitting that among the first of those interviews was longtime Saints GM Mickey Loomis, who wanted to make one thing very clear.
"I do hate the Falcons," Loomis said. "I just don't hate the people that work for the Atlanta Falcons. I have a lot of respect for the coaches that you have there, the owner, all the people you have in the building. I can separate the people from the rivalry."
Listen to the full interview with Dimitroff in the player at the top of the page. Can't see the player? Click here.
It was a clear point made in an illuminating episode of Dimitroff's new project, which will only feature 15 interviews because one of the GMs he spoke with is already out of that position, an example of the high-stakes and high-stress nature of the GM job. Dimitroff and Loomis are rare examples of GMs that have existed in the same GM role for a decade-plus. It's not complicated why that's difficult, the longer you stay, the longer you have to make decisions that might not age well.
The pair has a close relationship despite the Saints-Falcons rivalry, having communicated regularly and never shying away from those conversations.
"I really, really appreciate him. He's going to be the longest-standing general manager in this league, and that's Hall of Fame-ish type discussions," Dimitroff said.
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You just don't gain anything from bad relationships, Dimitroff said, it's actually the opposite. It's one of the major changes in recent years around the NFL.
"If you're known as a pariah in the league as a general manager, life becomes really, really difficult," Dimitroff said.
Those GM dynamics are something Dimitroff, 55, is attempting to shine a light on through his podcast. So he bought a van -- and "van life is big right now" he says -- and hit the road. Along with Loomis, Dimitroff has already published interviews with Bucs GM Jason Licht and Texans GM Nick Caserio. He'll also be posting interviews with the GMs of the Cardinals, Rams, 49ers, Seahawks, Chiefs, Browns, Bills, Eagles, Ravens, Titans and Lions.
One thing that's stuck out is the consistent messaging when it comes to evaluation misses. Most GMs pointed to some variation of the idea that they didn't necessarily miss on players, they missed on their evaluation of the people themselves. Identifying mental makeup and characteristics can often be more important than technical skills.
"Just the pure person side, that in and of itself is a really fascinating science that needs to be honed in on. Because too often there are mistakes that way, and believe me, I'll raise my hand. I had a number of [misses], unfortunately, in Atlanta that they were damn good football players," Dimitroff said, pointing to former NFL sacks leader and 2015 No. 8 overall pick Vic Beasley. " ... [He] won the sack title in 2016 when we got to the Super Bowl, but after that there was a fizzle-out effect, unfortunately. ... Still a marvelous guy, but his passion for football wasn't something we had dialed in on."
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Dimitroff concedes that the most difficult questions to answer as a GM are often pertaining to the hits and misses in the NFL draft. And most often they occur when teams don't completely understand the players they're adding, or how they'll fit with the coaches, staff and culture they'll be joining. It's a major reason that player interviews are so vital to the scouting process, and listening to others within the orgranization.
"Those are the questions that you can't really talk about as a GM because it sounds as though you're passing the buck, but there are elements to it, which is something that we'll continue to talk about in these pods," he said. "But people understand that those GM positions are very interesting positions, and I'm hoping to shed some light."