While Kevin Colbert stepped down as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ general manager, it was expected he’d still have some sort of role within the organization. During his press conference today (via the Steelers official YouTube channel), current GM Omar Khan was asked what if Colbert’s role had been figured out.
“I think that’s still fluid. Kevin, had him up here, it was a couple days ago just to speak to the scouting staff about some of the stuff that he’s done in the past and how we did in the past,” Khan said. “I mean, Art and him have been talking, but he’s been a great resource for us so far, he’s phone call away and we text and talk all the time.”
Colbert obviously won’t have as large of a role, but it’s not surprising that he’ll be involved in some capacity. He and Khan have a long-standing relationship, and Colbert being around as a resource to him to aid in the transition is a positive for the Steelers.
With a revamped and expanded scouting staff, having Colbert talk to them about how Pittsburgh traditionally goes about its business is also a plus. It’s no secret that the Steelers have a higher hit rate than a lot of teams in the draft and even free agency, so getting everyone on the same page about their scouting processes can help allow that to continue.
Even though Colbert will likely still be involved, it’s still Khan’s team. He’s the one calling the shots, and while Colbert can be around to help him through the transition and hold some type of role, it’s Khan who runs the show. We’ve already seen some deviation from how Pittsburgh traditionally operates, with an earlier-than-usual extension for S Minkah Fitzpatrick and the team hiring an assistant general manager in Andy Weidl.
Pittsburgh’s front office has always been a collaborative environment though, and it seems as if that will continue under Khan. He already talked about how he considers the GM role to be “CEO-like”, and he needs to have faith in his co-workers as he won’t be able to manage every part of the organization.
The scope of changes under Khan won’t really be seen until he has a full offseason under his belt. If there are changes in scouting, drafting and overall philosophy, we won’t really be able to tell until next offseason. Still, I would expect things to run mostly the same, albeit with some changes like we’ve already seen when it comes to getting players under contract earlier than usual. Whatever happens, it’s a new era in Pittsburgh, and it’ll be fun to watch it all play out.
