HOUSTON — Thomas Dimitroff is a graduate of Belichick U. The Atlanta Falcons general manager got a master’s degree in football philosophy in Foxborough, toiling in the Patriots’ front office from 2002 to 2007, five of those years as director of college scouting. But the most important lesson that Dimitroff learned from Bill Belichick — the one that has him facing his former boss in Super Bowl LI on Sunday — was to be an independent thinker.
Perhaps, it is not a coincidence that the Belichick acolyte who has tried the least to duplicate his demeanor and parrot his tight-lipped culture is the first one to reach a Super Bowl. Dimitroff has taken the teachings of the Patriot Way and applied them, but done things his own way since taking over the Falcons in 2008.
As proteges on the coaching side from Charlie Weis to Eric Mangini to Josh McDaniels have learned after striking out on their own, imitating Belichick is likely to leave you labeled as a knockoff version of the man who is part Da Vinci, part Vince Lombardi. Belichick is a sui generis football figure.
“When I came to Atlanta in 2008 there were many things I brought. There were things I left behind that were not my personality,’’ said the 50-year-old Dimitroff. “If you are yourself, I think that’s when you have a fighting chance to be successful in this league.’’
Like Belichick, Dimitroff is the son of a former professional football player who became a coach and scout. Dimitroff’s late father, Tom, attempted two passes for the Patriots in their inaugural season in the AFL, 1960. He coached in the Canadian Football League and at the Canadian college level. Dimitroff’s dad scouted for the Cleveland Browns from 1987 to 1996, serving under Belichick when he was head coach of the Browns from 1991 to 1995.
But Dimitroff, who got his NFL start working on the Browns grounds crew, pulling tarps, painting fields, and smelling pesticides, is not your typical football lifer. He is a bit of an iconoclast by staid NFL front office standards with his spiky hair and hipster glasses.
How many NFL GMs slap on a GoPro camera and go mountain biking with seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong? How many are converted vegans (Dimitroff is now just a vegetarian)?
That individualist streak is what defines Dimitroff and led him to disregard Belichick’s advice to make the signature move of his career — sending five draft picks to the Browns to move up 21 spots in the 2011 Draft and select wide receiver Julio Jones.
As detailed in the book “War Room’’ by Michael Holley, Belichick advised Dimitroff as a friend that he shouldn’t do the deal. His Hoodieness thought Jonathan Baldwin, who wound up being selected by the Chiefs with the first-rounder that Dimitroff traded to Cleveland, was just as good.
Baldwin lasted three seasons in the NFL and caught 44 passes. Jones is a two-time first-team All-Pro selection. His career average of 96.3 yards per game is the best in NFL history.
“I think Bill is a very thoughtful person. Our conversation about that had much more to do with ‘This better be something you are very sure of, and whether you are or you aren’t it’s going to be with you for the rest of your career,’ ’’ said Dimitroff. “I listened to that of course. He has his opinions about things, which I respect a great deal. Obviously, he is a Hall of Fame coach and team builder.
“I’ve said this to him after the fact, we all know our organizations much better than anyone else, anyone else. Even the most sagacious football man, we’re going to know our organization better because we know the intricacies of our organization. During that time in ’11, [head coach] Mike Smith and I knew exactly what we were looking for.’’
That move was actually influenced by his admiration for the teams constructed by another Bill — former Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian.
The upstart, “Rise Up’’ Falcons are an amalgam of the Patriot gospel, Dimitroff’s personal personnel beliefs, and the Seattle Seahawks doctrine that Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn brought with him after serving as Pete Carroll’s defensive coordinator. Hired in 2015, Quinn has the final say on the 53-man roster.
The Falcons employ what Dimitroff called “the Patriots paradigm,’’ making sure that everyone in the organization understands the types of players that fit the coach’s system and culture. That’s why the Falcons have been able to retool their defense with second-year players Vic Beasley Jr., who led the league in sacks, and cornerback Jalen Collins and four rookies — linebackers Deion Jones and De’Vondre Campbell, safety Keanu Neal, and nickel corner Brian Poole.
The team has a collaborative approach that includes influence from former Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli, who won three Super Bowls as Belichick’s player-picking partner. Pioli is Atlanta’s assistant GM and Dimitroff’s close friend since their Cleveland days. Some scouting and draft responsibilities were shifted to Pioli after a stretch of disappointing drafts that contributed to three playoff-less seasons from 2013 to 2015.
In Dimitroff’s first five seasons, the Falcons went 56-24 in the regular season and never had a losing record. Atlanta posted four double-digit win seasons. They made the playoffs four times, advancing to the NFC title game in 2012. He was twice named the Sporting News NFL Executive of the Year.
But after loading up to make a Super Bowl run with aging players such as tight end Tony Gonzalez and former Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel and falling just short, the Falcons fell off.
Veterans such as Steven Jackson flopped. The offense line was patchwork and porous. Matt Ryan was sacked a career-high 44 times in 2013, when the Falcons went 4-12. They followed that with 6-10 and 8-8 seasons.
Dimitroff got a tepid endorsement from owner Arthur Blank after 2015, and the local paper ran a story listing the top 10 reasons the Falcons should dump Dimitroff as GM.
“It was humbling,’’ said Dimitroff, who received a three-year extension in November. “I came to Atlanta from New England and then being in Atlanta for five years that was 11 years of a lot of wins — albeit in Atlanta not Super Bowls — but a lot of wins. All of the sudden you turn the corner and you’re dealing with all the rocky journey of the climbing of the mountain. That’s not easy of course.
“You have to be the right leader. You have to make sure you stay above everything. You have to put all the noise aside because obviously there are going to be a lot of critics. That’s what this job is . . . It’s just a matter of staying the course and believing in what you want to do. Luckily, I had a partner in Dan that was very into that.’’
In the end, Dimitroff built a team worthy of playing for the Lombardi Trophy because he heeded the best advice he said he ever got from Belichick — be yourself.
“I’ve always believed that,’’ said Dimitroff. “Leaving that organization, I never even tried to attempt to be like Bill. I learned a lot there. I think his point was staying true to what you believe in.’’
Dimitroff has his team playing in the Big Game because he didn’t play the Belichick imitation game.
Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @cgasper.