Steelers officially announce the hiring of Omar Khan as General Manager

The Pittsburgh Steelers have taken their time as their try and find their next acting General Manager (GM). Once it became known Kevin Colbert wouldn’t be signing another yearly contract, the team started to put the wheels in motion to replace the long-time GM.

With Colbert’s contract running through the 2022 NFL Draft, the team started casting a wide net for potential candidates for the vacancy. After the first round of interviews the list was narrowed down to six. Of those six, two were in-house candidates, Omar Khan and Brandon Hunt.

The hiring of Omar Khan is no longer just a rumor/report, but was made official as the Steelers made the in-house candidate their next GM.

“I am extremely excited for this opportunity to be the General Manager of the Pittsburgh Steelers.” Khan said in an official statement. “I would like to thank Art Rooney II, Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert for their support throughout this process. I am ready for this challenge and grateful to continue the success we have had on the field during my first 21 years. I look forward to completing our football operations staff and working tirelessly to build another championship football team for Steelers Nation and our community.”

There will be a contingent of the fan base who is likely wondering how the team could settle on a man who is more of the front office type, a salary cap guru, than someone with a scouting acumen.

Well, there is reportedly a contingency plan for naming Khan as the next GM. That plan was former Philadelphia Eagles Vice President of player personnel, Andy Weid being named the Assistant GM in Pittsburgh.

Weidl isn’t just a Pittsburgh native, but the football mind you want in your front office. He and Khan will make a very dynamic duo making the decisions for the Steelers for the foreseeable future.

A caveat which hasn’t been discussed as much is the fact Colbert himself would like to remain on in an advisory role. That is, if Art Rooney II would be willing to have him. If the team can keep Colbert on board, in some capacity, while transitioning to the Khan/Weidl era, it might be a best-case scenario for the organization.

Be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as the team prepares to go through Phase 3 of Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and mandatory minicamp.

For a breakdown of the Steelers hiring of Omar Khan, check out BTSC’s breaking news podcast: