May 25th, 2022 marked the beginning of a new era for the Pittsburgh Steelers. This day marked the end of a Hall of Fame caliber career of former General Manager Kevin Colbert and the initiation of newly named General Manager Omar Khan. The Steelers were extremely diligent in their prospecting, as their process lasted over 120 days looking back to the beginning of the year. Khan seemed to be the unspoken favorite throughout the process and on Wednesday, the Steelers made it official:
"I am pleased to announce Omar Khan as our next General Manager," said Steelers’ President Arthur Rooney II. "Omar has been an integral part of our Football Operations Department during his 21 years with the team, and that experience will serve him well in his new position."
As Rooney indicated, Khan has been immersed within the Steelers’ organization since 2001. During his tenure, Khan has been a part of countless AFC North division titles, playoff wins, and not to mention a pair of Super Bowl championships as apart of three appearances. Needless to say, Khan has seen what it takes to effectively construct a winning football team in every aspect from the draft, to free agency, to retaining key talent. After signing his new four-year contract as General Manager, Khan explained:
"I am extremely excited for this opportunity to be the General Manager of the Pittsburgh Steelers," he proclaimed. "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."
New Steelers' GM Omar Khan celebrates the Super Bowl XLIII victory with Arthur Rooney II, Mike Tomlin, Kevin Colbert, and Dan Rooney (photo via diez.hn)
Khan began his career as a part of the New Orleans Saints before heading to Pittsburgh. In his time there, he served a multitude of different titles including Football Operations/Coaching Assistant, New Orleans' Player Personnel Assistant, and even interim Player Programs Director. Then once Colbert assumed oversight of the front office personnel, Khan joined the ranks in Pittsburgh where he would continue to climb the NFL ladder.
In recent years, Khan’s popularity within Steeler Nation grew once fans saw how great he was at navigating the league’s salary cap. As we’ve seen the modernized NFL evolve, we have a new-found appreciation for the science behind structuring a contract to help keep the necessary players and coaches in house and still setting the team up for success the following season. Colbert got a lot of the credit in prospecting players outside of the Steelers, but it was Khan who was riding shotgun in carefully crafting the contracts to be advantageous for both the players and the organization.
As we’ve seen in the 2022 offseason, the Steelers are taking a ‘job by committee’ approach to the organization’s duties where they determine is most integral to the team’s success. This includes the addition of Defensive Assistant Brian Flores who we saw travel with Tomlin and Colbert throughout the pre-draft circuit, the new addition of Assistant Quarterbacks coach in David Corley to help the new quarterback group, and the new additional of Assistant Offensive Line Coach Isaac Williams to aid in creating a new protection scheme. As a part of the recent reshuffling of the front office, the Steelers also added Assistant General Manager Andy Weidl and Sheldon White as Director of Player Personnel. While Khan is not going to be a downgrade to Colbert, it is clear the Steelers want to give Khan all of the right tools to make him as successful as possible in his new role.
Between the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger and the news of Colbert stepping down, Steeler Nation has been mentally and emotionally preparing for the next steps in Steelers history. With OTA’s well under way and the new front office being constructed, May 25th, 2022 was the culmination of a lot of work behind the scenes in Pittsburgh. It is time to welcome and embrace Khan and the new regime to their new roles in leading one of the most successful franchises in all of professional sports.
What are you expecting of Khan as GM? Do you think he’ll be able to carry Colbert’s legacy at the position? Let us know in the comments below!
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