PITTSBURGH — The Steelers conducted a national search for general manager and determined the best man for the job was already in their building. And they determined the best choice as his right-hand man is a former football star at Mt. Lebanon (Pa.) who once worked as a scout for the Steelers, as well.
I know, it is a miracle!
The best people for every job in the Steelers front office either has the last name Rooney, is related to a Rooney, already works for the Steelers, has worked for the Steelers in the past, or has some ties to Pittsburgh.
I know there is a lot of cynicism about the way the Steelers do business. The "Steeler Way" is often overstated, but it is very clear the Rooney family is loyal to people who do a good job for them and they are also comfortable with people they know.
It is hard to argue with their results over the course of time. It is well documented that the Steelers are at or near the top of the NFL since 1970 in terms of Super Bowls won, Super Bowl appearances, playoff appearances, division titles, total wins, winning percentage and just about every other metric.
Clearly what they are doing is working well. Yes, the last 10 years have been somewhat underwhelming, but the fact is they haven't had a losing season in almost two decades, which means they have consistently been in the playoff conversation and that's impressive in the era of salary caps and free agency.
That brings me to the news that the Steelers are promoting Omar Khan to general manager and hiring former Mt. Lebanon star and Steelers scout Andy Weidl to be his assistant. Weidl has most recently been the vice president of player personnel for the Eagles and has an impressive resume as an NFL personnel man.
The skeptical side of me says this is a lazy, uninspired move and that the Steelers aren't really trying to be the best they can be. They always seem to promote from within or go with people with ties to Pittsburgh, and the best people in the field can't possibly all fit into one of those two categories.
That's the skeptical side, though, and in this case I am going to go with the intellectual side and say I don't like these two moves — I actually love them. I believe the Steelers did their due diligence as they talked to roughly 14 candidates, narrowed their search to six for a second interview, then made their decision.
And the more I've read about Weidl, the more I'm convinced this will work really well, as Khan is one of the smartest people in that building. And Weidl was actually one of the finalists for the job, which means the Steelers not only got one of the six they interviewed twice, they got two.
Khan is known as a salary cap guru, but the idea he doesn't know the personnel side is silly. You can't possibly do the job he did, working closely with coaches, personnel people and general manager Kevin Colbert, and not know what you are looking at.
Khan understands football. He understands structurally how to build a roster. He is incredibly intelligent and respected by everyone in the organization. He has earned this job and will do a great job of leading the new front office.
But even though he has roots on the personnel side, he has worked mostly on the numbers side of building rosters, which is where Weidl comes in. Weidl helped build a Super Bowl team in Baltimore and worked with Ozzie Newsome, who is considered by many to be one of the greatest football personnel guys ever, then helped build a Super Bowl-winning team in Philadelphia.
Weidl will work with the scouts and Khan, and he will provide a very good resource on all matters personnel. It is a win-win for the Steelers because they combine one of the best money men in the NFL with one of the best personnel men and will look to rebuild the roster.
There is also a report that former Lions vice president of player personnel Sheldon White is going to join Weidl in the personnel department in some capacity. I'm OK with that, too, but there can be overkill and too many voices, so hopefully it is very clear that Khan is in charge and has the final say.
It is good to get as much experience in place as possible, but too many chefs can spoil the soup. So as long as there is a clear flow chart of responsibilities, it can work.
In this case, Steelers ownership has done a great job of filling the considerable role that Colbert held for a long time. The Steeler Way is often fodder for criticism and at times is uninspiring, but Khan is indeed the best man for the job, particularly since he will be teamed with an excellent personnel man by his side.
