ORLANDO, Fla. -- It hasn't taken long for Omar Khan to make his mark on the Steelers organization since he was named general manager in 2022. He already turned a lot of heads by an active free agency period and highly-reviewed draft class last spring, and he's followed that up with an even more active free agency this year.
Of all the ways people might describe Khan's approach to the job, "aggressive" is a word that gets thrown around a lot. However, that's not how he sees it.
"I don't ever necessarily consider myself or describe myself as aggressive," Khan said Monday afternoon at the NFL annual meeting. "I'm trying to do everything I can to help. I owe it to the Steeler Nation to do everything I can to try to get to the Super Bowl. Every decision that we make and that we talk about, every move that we make and talk about, it's based on that. Sometimes we make moves, we make decisions, and sometimes we don't. But it's always with the intent of doing what we can to get to the second week in February."
To date, Khan has turned Chase Claypool into a draft pick that allowed the Steelers to get Joey Porter Jr., a budding star at cornerback. While not having a franchise quarterback eating up a chunk of the salary cap, Khan's used that space to take advantage of every opportunity to upgrade positions. He signed Isaac Seumalo last spring to upgrade the guard position, even though that wasn't a significant position of need. He saw an opportunity that presented itself and pounced on it. This year, he signed Patrick Queen, the best inside linebacker on the free-agent market. He's even been bold in trading away a talented receiver such as Diontae Johnson to upgrade the cornerback position, and found a way to clear cap space while doing so.
Those are just a few of those moves. But, they all pale in comparison to how he's handled the overhaul at quarterback. And it really embodies how well prepared Khan is for this job.
In the 15 minutes Khan took from meetings to speak with reporters, Khan admittedly bluntly that the quarterback position did not play out the way he intended.
"If you would have told me a month ago in Indy that we'd be here and Russell Wilson and Justin Fields would be our quarterbacks, I'd say, I'd be a little bit surprised," Khan said. "Things just kind of evolved. I couldn't really have foreseen that things would go the way they did."
When Kenny Pickett requested a trade, Khan and the Steelers were forced to call an audible. But, because of Khan's due diligence, they weren't left scrambling. They had already had talks with the Bears about Fields and were able to pick up the phone and re-engage in those talks. So, instead of potentially dealing with a disgruntled first-round quarterback after signing Wilson, Khan had a contingency plan in place, even if it never played out.
That's just part of being a GM. Even if there's a risk that things might leak, which they did, Khan had every right to pick up the phone and call Bears GM Ryan Poles and check in on Fields. And, Khan had the right to have plans in place with several candidates. But, bringing in a younger, highly-talented quarterback such as Fields over getting a predictable veteran backup also embodies Khan's drive to add competition to literally every single position on the roster.
"You guys have always heard me say the importance of competition and depth at every position. That process continues," Khan said. "We're very specific about the guys we bring in, guys that can compete and make us better through the process of getting to the first game."
Khan is a young GM, but he's spent a lot of time in the game and in this organization. He learned under Kevin Colbert, a man who helped add two Lombardi Trophies to the trophy case on South Water Street. Khan's approaching 30 years in the game, and he's used every single minute of it to his advantage. He's smart enough to realize that in order to succeed as a GM, you have to be able to play the game on both sides, with the teams and the players.
"I'd say the thing that helps is just building relationships. I've always felt like that's an important part of this," Khan said. "When you're in this business, I think I started in 1997, you meet a lot of people and you build a lot of relationships, not only at the club level but with the agents. I'd say I have close acquaintances on both sides of that. I think the relationship part of this definitely helps. There's a trust factor to this. I think as you get to know people, they see what you're made of and you get to know them. That part is really important."
Of all the tools Khan has learned over the years, the one that might be most valuable is patience. Fans are clamoring for the center position to be addressed right now. That's understandable, as Nate Herbig would currently slot in as the starter, who was a backup throughout last season. Fans want to see offensive tackle upgraded. On the first day of this year's legal tampering period, the Steelers remained idle while players were agreeing to contracts left and right elsewhere.
But, we saw how everything played out after a quiet first unofficial day of free agency. The Steelers have a plan in place. It can't be solved overnight. Some of these processes take time. That's why Fields wasn't a Steeler shortly after the news leaked weeks prior to free agency that the Steelers were interested. Khan was making sure that he had a plan in place in case primary plans fail. If he doesn't do things like that, he'll fail at the job.
So, as we sit still a month away from the NFL Draft, the Steelers don't have every need addressed just yet. They didn't at this point last spring, either. So, as the Steelers continue to look to upgrade center and add to the receiver room -- two positions Khan confirmed they are still entertaining all options -- Khan won't budge from the way that's earned him the reputation of being, as Mike Tomlin dubbed it last year, "The Khan Artist."
"You just have to be patient," Khan said. "I'm confident by the time we get to the start of the season, you will have the right 53 guys for us regardless of position, but you just have to be patient and understand that. When you lose one opportunity, it's not the last opportunity. There's going to be an opportunity to address it in other ways. So be patient, something's going to happen."
