The Steelers have made two notable hires to the newly built front office with Omar Khan and Andy Weidl.
Kevin Colbert is now officially gone and a new sheriff is in town. Well not a new person in town, but an inside hire. That was the expectation that most had when they imagined who the Steelers would pick to be their new General manager.
They searched under every nook and cranny to try and find the successor of Kevin Colbert’s remarkable career that will probably end in Canton one day. Many different interesting names were up for the job, but Pittsburgh seemed to want to go either with Omar Khan or Brandon Hunt. It was a highly desired job and the team took their time.
They eventually went with Khan over Hunt and also hired Andy Weidl for an assistant role. They get some young blood into the room that also knows what the Steelers tradition means to this city. They have big shoes to fill, but both are more than qualified for their respective positions.
Local roots
Omar Khan
Khan has been with the Steelers organization for a long time. He has a family here and married someone from Pittsburgh. His roots are established in this city, despite being from Louisiana originally. He has become an honorary yinzer and should be someone the fans come to respect.
Andy Weidl
Weidl was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area. He played football at Mount Lebanon High School. He would go on to have an extensive resume in the NFL that included him winning two Super Bowl rings. Weidl has been able to have a great career to this point and was even in consideration for the main job for his hometown team.
Omar Khan (General manager) background
Khan has been in the NFL for many years and started his front office life at Tulane in the collegiate ranks. He would then be hired by the New Orleans Saints in a front office administrative role before joining the black and gold. That stint lasted four seasons with his hometown team before he got a promotion elsewhere.
He would join the Steelers after that, which is where he would stick and begin to make a name for himself. He has been with the franchise for 21 years and worked his way up to the General manager position for one of the steadiest positions in the NFL. It took some time, but his strength as a cap guru has really been the main talent that landed him these promotions.
Andy Weidl (Assistant general manager) background
Weidl has had a nice career in the NFL, mostly in the scouting ranks. He eventually worked his way up from being a scout for the Steelers initially and all the way up to Vice President of Operations for the Philadelphia Eagles recently. He has been able to rise up to his most recent position for his hometown club.
His career is starting to come full circle as he returns back to where his career started. He has been a part of some championship-winning front offices and has gained a wealth of knowledge since being a scout for the black and gold. He has been a part of the Baltimore Ravens and the New Orleans Saints as well.
These two have complementary strengths that will benefit the Steelers
Both of these two are just the start of the hiring that will occur with the new front office. Some will be brought back while others will depart the team and fresh faces will be hired on. Omar Khan and company will want to bring people on board that they are comfortable with.
This is an exciting yet nerve-wracking time for the franchise as a new chapter is written in this lure of the team. There is a new quarterback and general manager that have now taken over this club, which many will hope will have similar success to their predecessors. It is a crazy time to be a Steelers fan, but it brings some interesting and fresh news cycles.
Khan is a cap guru that has been the right-hand man of Kevin Colbert for years. His name didn’t get much attention leading up to the hiring, but he should have been noticed more in media coverage. He has been able to navigate the Steelers money problems and get them where they need to be while they stayed in contention.
Andy Weidl is more of the opposite as he focuses more on the draft side of things. He is still a scout at heart and that is where his main expertise is. His ability to identify talent is impressive and one of the major factors in him getting this position.
Both Khan and Weidl have experience with the Steelers
Both Omar Khan and Andy Weidl have prior experience with the Steelers, with different levels of employment. Khan has the longest track record with the black and gold as he enters as the GM after 21 years with the club. He will finally get a chance to run the team and perfect his vision to a status of contention.
He only has four years of his professional career elsewhere in the NFL. All the rest of his experience lands with Pittsburgh as he had plenty of time to sit behind Kevin Colbert and learn. His long time behind the scenes without many noticing his contributions have finally paid off with a job that only holds 32 positions in the world.
Weidl is from the area and that makes some things interesting. Khan will be the top dog, but this new assistant will be able to put in some good words of his opinion in certain instances. He knows the city and the tradition that this football team holds for this city.
He started his career with the Steelers as a scout before he moved on elsewhere. He quickly rose up the ranks across the NFL on three different teams, his latest with the Eagles. He earned this position and these two younger minds will get a chance to create something special for this franchise.
The Steelers have been able to get two solid additions to their front office. There will be more names joining the fold as this new regime prepares to fill some big shoes.