After a months-long process that included two rounds of interviews and a reduction in the original shortlist of six finalists, Steelers president Art Rooney II hired Omar Khan as the team’s new general manager. and successor to Kevin Colbert. Khan signed a four-year contract.
“I am pleased to announce Omar Khan as our next CEO,” Rooney said. “Omar has been an integral part of our football operations department for 21 years with the team, and that experience will serve him well in his new role.”
Khan, 45, has worked for the Steelers in various roles for the past 21 years, most recently as the team’s vice president of football and business administration. This position found Khan working closely with Rooney, Colbert and coach Mike Tomlin in the day-to-day general management of the Football Operations Department.
“I’m very excited about this opportunity to be the Pittsburgh Steelers general manager,” Khan said. “I would like to thank Art Rooney II, Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert for their support throughout this process. I am prepared for this challenge and grateful to continue the success we have had in the field during my first 21 years. I look forward to to complete our football operations staff and work tirelessly to build another championship football team for the Steelers Nation and our community. “
While Khan was in charge of overseeing many different areas and functions of the organization before being hired as general manager, outside of the team he was known as the chief contract negotiator for the Steelers and the one who managed the salary cap. Their effectiveness in these areas was a factor in the Steelers going to three Super Bowls, winning two and only having one season lost this century.
Prior to joining the Steelers, Khan worked with the New Orleans Saints for four years. In 2000, he served as a football operations assistant / coach, where he oversaw the overall operation of the football program and assisted the offensive coordinator in the day-to-day operations of the attack.
From 1998 to 1999, Khan served as a staff assistant for New Orleans players, assisting with professional listening, player contract negotiation, government affairs, and football administration. interim director of player programs during the 1998 season. In 1997, Khan was an intern for player staff.
Hired by the Steelers in 2001, a year after Colbert replaced Tom Donahoe as head of the team’s Personnel Department, Khan was originally the team’s football operations coordinator and was named director of football management. 2011. Five years later, he was promoted to vice president of football and business administration.
In 2005, Khan was selected to attend the NFL Managers Program at Stanford University’s School of Business Education. Khan, who is very active in the community, is a member of the executive board of the Pittsburgh Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the board of the Pittsburgh Film Office, and the advisory board of the FNB Community Bank.