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Some time Monday the Houston Texans interviewed Pittsburgh Steelers Vice President Omar Khan for their vacant general manager position. After conducting more interviews the Texans have decided to go in another direction. Houston has settled on New England’s former director of player of personal, Nick Caserio, for their vacant General Manager position. The Texans actually attempted to hire Caserio back in 2019, but were blocked by the Patriots from doing so.
Houston Texans now officially have hired former Patriots’ exec Nick Caserio as their general manager, as @McClain_on_NFL said they would. The man they tried to hire in 2019 is hired in 2021.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 6, 2021
So what does that mean for Khan? Most importantly it means he will continue his role in the Steelers’ front office, and, unless he is hired elsewhere, will be the man tasked into figuring out the Steelers’ dismal 2021 salary cap issues. He has over a decade of experience in the role so if anyone can figure out this predicament it would be Khan.
One has to wonder if the interviewing of Omar Khan was just to satisfy the NFL’s “Rooney Rule” which makes teams interview at least one minority candidate for head coaching and senior football operation jobs. If teams do not comply with the rule they are subject to fines by the league office.
Back in 2018 the Oakland Raiders were investigated for whether they satisfied this rule when they hired Jon Gruden. Results of the investigation found the Raiders interviewed two minority candidates before hiring Gruden. Since the rule was introduced in 2003, no team has failed to comply.
The Rooney Rule was named after the late Dan Rooney, the former owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and former chairman of the league’s diversity committee. Its purpose was to ensure that minority coaches, especially African Americans, would be given an opportunity for high-level coaching positions.
As of the time of this being published, no other Steelers executives or coaches are expected to interview for jobs around the NFL. Unless a coaching/front office position is vacated by another team at the conclusion of the season, the Steelers would be returning everyone from the 2020/21 coaching staff and front office that they would want to retain.
What do you think? Do you think the Steelers dodged a bullet in retaining their salary cap ‘guru’? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below.
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