The Pittsburgh Steelers have a simple philosophy in this offseason’s approach to remaking the offensive line room: be big, and know Andy Weidl. Those seem to be the outstanding criteria that brought the trio of Nate Herbig, Isaac Seumalo, and now Le’Raven Clark to the Steel City, crossing the state—albeit indirectly in two of the three cases—from Philadelphia.
All three linemen played at one point for the Eagles, Seumalo having spent his entire career there and predating Weidl’s stay there. Herbig signed with the team as a college free agent in 2019, when Weidl was promoted to Vice President of Player Personnel. And he knows it’s not a coincidence that he’s back in the same building with the man who helped provide him his first contract.
Speaking to Missi Matthews for the team’s website, Herbig was asked if Weidl had anything to do with him landing in Pittsburgh. “He definitely did”, he said. “I feel like he’s always believed in me, believed in my game, and I feel like this is a good opportunity for me to come in and contribute to this organization”.
Of course, when one team signs three linemen who all have a connection to the same person, it’s not exactly much of a shock. Like the Steelers, Weidl values personal connections and he obviously believes in the three linemen the team has signed this year.
Even if he didn’t completely guide those moves, he would have had to vouch for them due to his history with them. If he said anything negative about his experience working with them, they wouldn’t be here, regardless of who is the general manager.
Herbig was the first of the three linemen to sign with the Steelers last offseason and the first to comment to the media. He was also asked about Weidl during his introductory press conference shortly after the start of free agency and spoke glowingly of him then.
“Andy Weidl’s the G.O.A.T., man. He’s the man”, he said. “He was in Philly when I was in Philly and we kind of had that connection coming here a little bit. Just happy to be here, and happy to be in the same building as him”.
Among the finalists to succeed Kevin Colbert as the Steelers’ general manager, he so impressed the organization as the runner-up that they elected to hire him as assistant general manager. It is a role they created specifically to accommodate him and to complement Omar Khan, the new general manager.
Weidl has a much deeper reputation in league circles as a hands-on scout, having spent more than a decade in the league in scouting departments, including in Baltimore and New Orleans. Because of this, many, admittedly perhaps rightly, have deigned to give him the bulk of the credit for the personnel moves they have made this offseason. And the offensive line moves have an undeniable connection to him.
