There was a report this week that the St. Louis Rams wanted to interview Pittsburgh Steelers Business & Football Administration Coordinator Omar Khan on Thursday for their open General Manager position, but Mark Kaboly from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review let me know today that he knows for a fact the interview did not take place. As Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch pointed out on Thursday, the Steelers aren\’t obligated to grant them permission to talk to Khan unless they give him control over roster decisions. Khan is regarded as one of the top salary cap and contract negotiators in the league, so it makes sense that the Steelers would not grant him permission just top make a lateral move, and being as Khan is not regarded as a top personnel football guy, the Rams are unlikely to give him that control over personnel decisions as a result, especially with new head coach Jeff Fisher now with the team.
Khan has been linked to several possible GM jobs over the years with the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins being the most recent. Khan also has a big fan in former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher. When and if Cowher every returns to the sidelines, it is rumored he will push the ownership of whatever team he lands with to bring Khan on as the general manager. Cowher has been linked to several of the recent job openings with the Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars, and he could have been high on the San Diego Chargers want list as well had they fired head coach Norv Turner and GM A.J. Smith.
With it sounding more and more now like the Rams will not get a chance to hire Khan away, and with all of the head coaching vacancies now filled, one could speculate that the Steelers salary cap guru will remain with the Steelers at least another year. Let\’s hope so.
