Journey of New Steelers GM Omar KHan

The Pittsburgh Steelers have found their new general manager in Omar Khan. After many interviews the Steelers decided to stay in-house with Khan who worked in the Steelers organization for two decades.

Khan has big shoes to fill behind former Steelers GM Kevin Colbert who has brought much success to the organization, but Khan’s previous positions in Pittsburgh make him well equipped for the job. Colbert and Khan both have similarities with one another as Colbert was hired at 43 with plenty of NFL experience and knowledge but no football-playing experience. Khan is 45 years old with plenty of NFL experience and knowledge but also no football-playing experience.

In the 21 years that Khan was learning under Colbert, he learned the philosophy of the Steelers organizations which was to build a team through the draft. It’s a Steelers tradition that Khan wants to uphold. Some notable players that were drafted under Colbert’s tenure as a GM are Troy Polamalu, Antonio Brown, T.J. Watt, etc. Khan was one of six candidates who received a second interview.

Khan most recently served as the team’s vice president of football and business administration. Khan started in Pittsburgh as the administration coordinator. Fast forward to 2016 when Khan was named the team’s VP of football and business operations. Khan was known for managing the team’s salary cap and playing a role in the Steelers winning two Super Bowls. The Steelers’ currently hold the longest active streak of non-losing seasons at 18 heading into the 2022-23 NFL season.

Khan’s transition to his new position as GM of the Pittsburgh Steelers should be smooth because of the familiarity he has with the organization, with Mike Tomlin, and the players.

“Mike and I have known each other for 16 years now. We have a great relationship, and that makes this job fun,” Khan said of his relationship with coach Tomlin.

 It is a new era in Pittsburgh with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger retiring and newest addition of quarterback Kenny Pickett in the first round of the NFL Draft.

“The 90 guys we have in that locker room now, I’m really excited about the future and where I think we can go,” Khan said about the future of the Steelers.