The Pittsburgh Steelers have hired former St. Louis Rams director of football operations Samir Suleiman to fill their newly created football administrator coordinator position, according to a Tuesday evening report by Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The hiring of Suleiman, a 1997 graduate of James Madison University, leads one to believe that the Steelers think that it will not be much longer until they finally lose Omar Khan, their Director of Business and Football Administration, to another team looking to hire a general manager. Khan, who interviewed with the New York Jets for their open general manager position earlier this offseason, had previously interviewed with the Rams and the Seattle Seahawks when both had similar openings over the course of the last few seasons.
Suleiman, who according to the Kaboly report, served as a consultant for the Steelers from July 2011 to August 2012, left the Rams in early 2009 after nine years of assisting president of football operations/general manager Jay Zygmunt. Prior to his stint with the Rams, he worked with Jacksonville Jaguars and the NFL management council.
Suleiman appears to be the heir apparent to Khan, who is regarded as being one of the best a salary cap and contract negotiators in the business. It has long been rumored that when and if former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher returns to sidelines, that he will insist on having Khan with him.
The Carolina Panthers would be an obvious fit for both, depending on how their 2013 season plays out. Panthers owner Jerry Richardson has long been a fan of the way that the Steelers do business, and you would have to think that Cowher would be at the top of his list if changes wind up being made next offseason.
