Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan have known and worked with each other for nearly two decades. Although their current dynamic is relatively new, Khan can’t imagine that changing anytime soon. The Pittsburgh Steelers just extended Tomlin on a three-year contract, but Khan doesn’t anticipate him leaving after that. And he doesn’t plan on going anywhere, either, now that he has his coveted general manager position.
“I think it’s awesome”, Khan said on 93.7 The Fan yesterday about Tomlin’s contract extension. “I’m hopeful and confident that Coach T and I are gonna be here for a long time together. We work really well together, and we have the same goal, and that’s to win a championship. We work very, very hard at it day in and day out”.
The Steelers hired Mike Tomlin as their head coach in 2007, but Omar Khan by then was already there. Hired in 2001 as a football administration manager, he earned a reputation as the contract guy. Having worked in football and business administration all these years, he finally earned the general manager job in 2022 after Kevin Colbert retired.
Tomlin may be the longest-tenured head coach in the NFL, going into his 18th season, but so what? In the grand scheme of things, the man is 52 years old. If he really wanted to, he could see to another 18 seasons on the job. And Khan is even younger at 47 years old. They have been doing this for all of their adult lives.
“We don’t really have a lot of hobbies. Neither one of us do. We spent a lot of time in this and we’re dedicated”, Khan said of himself and Tomlin about their dedication to the sport and to building a championship-caliber Steelers roster. “I really have no hobbies. I’m kind of boring when it comes to that. I’m all football”.
Mike Tomlin is a polarizing figure within Pittsburgh and the Steelers fanbase, but much less so from without. He is easily one of the most well-respected head coaches in the league, and in recent decades. Already a borderline Hall of Fame candidate, he consistently commands the respect of his players both for his leadership capabilities and his immense football knowledge. Football knowledge, of course, that fans insist he doesn’t have, even though the players experience it and talk about it.
As for Omar Khan, he is one of the rising general managers in all of the NFL. Pundits far and wide have praised each of his first two draft classes, though his other maneuvers have received more mixed reception.
Despite recent rumors, Tomlin has never given the slightest indication that he has any intentions of walking away from coaching, or coaching the Steelers, in the near future. Funnily enough, nobody really talks about John Harbaugh potentially stepping away, and he is 61. Harbaugh has only had a head-coaching job for one fewer year.
And Khan? He has wanted to be the general manager for the Steelers for many years, and now he has it. He isn’t going anywhere. His family is rooted in Pittsburgh now. I suspect he can’t imagine doing anything else, or doing it with anyone other than Tomlin.
