Matt Ryan made his retirement official earlier this week after 15 years in the NFL. He ushered in the first back-to-back winning seasons in Atlanta history and was as prolific a passer as anyone in the league. Without question, the former Falcons quarterback introduced the franchise to some of its best years in team history -- but that almost didn't happen.
Former Falcons General Manager, Thomas Dimitroff, joined the Steakhouse to discuss the coin toss that brought Atlanta its franchise quarterback.
Before the rule officially changed ahead of the 2019 season, when two or more teams finished with the same win-loss record and the same strength of schedule, their draft order would be decided by the flip of a coin at the NFL Combine. In fact, a surprising number of players (like Steve Bartkowski or Terry Bradshaw) have had their future determined by this method.
Back in 2008, Dimitroff was making his first NFL Combine appearance as the decision-maker for the franchise. After the fallout of the 2007 season, Atlanta finished at 4-12, tied with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders.
"I'm walking in, the other officials are there -- and the one official from the league had been there for many years," Dimitroff joked with Steak about the buildup to the coin toss. "He turns around and says, 'I said get the 'ef out of here! Only football people, no media!'"
The error was quickly corrected with some embarrassed chuckles and the first big decision of Dimitroff's career was coming up. Fortunately for Falcons fans, the old saying that "tails never fails" held, so Atlanta won the toss and the rights to the third overall pick.
"I don't think he would've been here," Dimitroff said about what would've become of Matt Ryan had he not called tails back in 2008. "I really don't."
The rest, as they say, is history.