As the old saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they worked on it every single day.”
This describes Pittsburgh Steelers GM Omar Khan’s football journey to a tee. He started out working in the football operations department with the New Orleans Saints back in 1997 and later joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2001 as the team’s Football Administration Coordinator. He would gradually rise up the ranks in the front office, receiving the titles of Director of Football Administration and Vice President of Football & Business Administration.
In 2022 after former Steelers GM Kevin Colbert retired, Khan was selected from a host of candidates to become Pittsburgh’s new general manager.
Waiting in the wings for over 20 years for the opportunity to be the guy in charge of running the show, Khan managed to acquire all the skills he needed to be the right man for the job, according to HC Mike Tomlin, who walked into Khan’s office Wednesday as Khan was a guest on The Pat McAfee Show.
“He has honed his skills to a fine edge man,” Tomlin said in his impromptu appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, which aired live on YouTube.
Often considered “just the cap guy,” Khan has put his doubters (including me) to rest. He has been a breath of fresh air for the Pittsburgh Steelers, having the most active and aggressive offeseason in recent memory for the franchise. The team signed CB Patrick Peterson, S Keanu Neal, LBs Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts, DL Armon Watts and Breiden Fehoko, WR Hakeem Butler, and OL Isaac Seumalo and Nate Herbig.
They re-signed several of their own key free agents while maneuvering up-and-down the draft board, securing their hopeful franchise LT in Broderick Jones while trading down in the third round to get the right to draft LB Nick Herbig while still nabbing TE Darnell Washington at an insane value.
Khan is far more than just a cap guru (of which he does exceptionally well). He has been mentored by Kevin Colbert for 21 years for this opportunity, surrounding himself with the right personnel, like assistant GM Andy Weidl, learning how the pre-draft process works, making calculated trades, signing cost-effective free agents to fill team needs, and drafting the right guys who embody what it means to be Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tomlin is right in saying that Khan has honed his skills to a fine edge, becoming a general manager that has been the talk of the NFL since the offseason started. His moves have vastly improved this roster from where it was a year ago, making Pittsburgh a team that can hang with some of the heavyweight contenders in the AFC Conference. “The Khan Artist” has opened up a new door to what Pittsburgh Steelers football may look like regarding free agency and the NFL Draft. Now, it’s up to Tomlin to take this team that Khan has assembled and turn it into a viable playoff contender.
