Before he became Pittsburgh Steelers’ GM, Omar Khan was known by one label. The “cap guy.” And it’s true. Prior to replacing Kevin Colbert, Khan was in charge of the team’s salary cap and point man on all contract negotiations, a role he held from 2001 to 2022.
But now that he’s second person to ever officially hold the General Manager label, he has bigger things to think about. And with that comes delegation, including those cap responsibilities Khan used to be intimately involved in. So who’s replacing him? It’s up-and-comer Cole Marcoux and appearing on Pat McAfee Show’s Thursday, Khan confirmed Marcoux is handling his old duties.
Khan told McAfee the Steelers are working through signing their entire rookie class and name-dropped Marcoux.
“We’re getting there,” Khan told McAfee. “We’ve got Cole Marcoux who handles it for us. I think we’ve got three through seven done so far.”
And that’s true. The Steelers have signed the majority of their rookie class, deals easy to get down because of rookie slotting established by the CBA, and have inked TE Darnell Washington, LB Nick Herbig, CB Cory Trice Jr., and OL Spencer Anderson to their rookie year-deal deals. The only names left are first-rounder OT Broderick Jones and second rounders CB Joey Porter Jr. and NT Keeanu Benton.
Just as Khan was for a chunk of his Steelers’ career, Marcoux isn’t a household name. But if you’re a hardcore follower of the site (and if you are, thank you), you’ve heard his name before. Shortly after Khan was promoted to GM last summer, we wrote an article about the role Marcoux was expected to gain in the Steelers’ front office.
Marcoux was hired in 2020 to replace Samir Suleiman, poached away from former Steelers’ minority owner David Tepper when he bought the Carolina Panthers. Marcoux is only 31 years old but Khan got started in Pittsburgh at a similar age, dutifully handling his role for two decades before being named Colbert’s replacement. Though Khan probably gets involved when he has to, he seems to trust Marcoux well.
“I’ve got a good person handling it. So we’re in good shape there.”
For bigger and trickier deals, the more Khan is likely involved in the process. And his background handling contracts and cap is a real skill and advantage for upcoming deals, like Mitch Trubisky’s extension and Alex Highsmith’s potential one later this summer. And if there is any sticking point over these rookie deals, Porter at #32 could be a little hairy given the unusual 32nd overall/second round combination, Khan can step in and seal the deal.
