Omar Khan Likely Next Pittsburgh Steelers GM

Omar Khan is likely going to be the next Pittsburgh Steelers GM, per Aditi Kinkhabwala. The Steelers have been searching for their next GM since it was announced that Kevin Colbert would be retiring after 22 seasons in the position.

Tuesday night Aditi Kinkhabwala of CBS Sports tweeted this:

Pittsburgh native and #Eagles VP of Player Personnel Andy Wiedl is slated to be named #Steelers’ new assistant GM, multiple sources around the league tell me. That means signs point to longtime Steelers exec Omar Khan emerging as winner of the search to replace Kevin Colbert.

— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) May 25, 2022

Background

Khan has been with the Steelers since 2001. He has served as their Football Operations Coordinator, Director of Football Administration and VP of Football and Business Administration in that time.

Khan’s rising through the ranks is thanks to his specialty in cap management. Pittsburgh has always been in good cap position in order to retain their top talent. The promoting of Khan will allow them to continue executing the business plan they are currently on.

Khan’s specialty with the cap has peaked the interest of many teams across the league. Per Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot, it’s been a long journey for Khan to finally reach this peak.

Omar Khan has interviewed for the following GM jobs over the course of his career:

Seahawks – 2010
Rams – 2012
Dolphins – 2013
Jets – 2013
Dolphins – 2014
Texans – 2021
Panthers – 2021
Bears – 2022

And Pittsburgh in 2022. Now he's the Steelers' man. Well-deserved.

— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) May 25, 2022

However, Khan is more than just a “cap guy”. He got his start on the football side as an undergraduate assistant at Tulane. He then turned an internship with the New Orleans Saints into a four year stint in their football operations department. In that time, Khan worked very closely with the coaching staff of Jim Haslett.

Outlook

While most will be disappointed with an internal hire there are many positives in this decision. First, Khan comes from a different background than Colbert. So even though he’s worked for him for over 20 years, he’s likely to have a difference in opinion on certain aspects of the job.

Next, he already has a working relationship with Team President Art Rooney II and Head Coach Mike Tomlin. Chemistry and good communication are imperative between ownership, management, and coach.

Lastly, continuity is key in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are already changing QBs. With Khan there won’t be too much staff turnover, and he was part of the process that drafted Kenny Pickett. An external candidate may have given up on the Pitt product too soon.

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We’ll never be able to tell if there was a better move out there. But the move to hire Khan as the next Steelers GM does have expectations. An internal hire comes with pressure of this team winning sooner rather than later. Only time will tell if the team can live up to it.

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