New Steelers general manager Omar Khan shares lessons learned from Kevin Colbert

The search for the Pittsburgh Steelers new general manager concluded in late May when the team hired Omar Khan to take over for longtime general manager Kevin Colbert. Khan is an internal hire for Pittsburgh and has been a member of their front office since 2001. During his introductory press conference, the Steelers new general manager revealed what he learned from Colbert during his time there.

“A couple things,” Khan said when asked what Colbert taught him. “Number one, when Joe Greene speaks, you listen — that’s number one. Number two, and this goes way before Kevin, but we’re always going to build this through the draft. I can’t ever forget that and I won’t. He was always big on that and that goes back to Art, Mr. Rooney and that’s going to continue.”

Colbert announced his decision to relinquish his position shortly after the end of the 2021-2022 season. Still, he decided to stick around and quarterback one last draft for Pittsburgh. And the now-former general manager left Khan with some quality talent. Colbert drafted speedster wide receiver Calvin Austin out of Memphis in the fourth round, along with Georgia Bulldogs star receiver George Pickens in the second round. And to complement those two outside threats, he selected the possible future face of the franchise, Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett in the first round. Colbert has set Khan up in an ideal position to have the Steelers competing for at least the AFC North crown this season. Now it’s up to Khan to make sure that happens and continues for years to come.

Omar Khan discusses transition from Kevin Colbert

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ new general manager Omar Khan made his first formal address after being named to the position. And during his press conference on Friday, Khan discussed what the transition from longtime general manager Kevin Colbert to himself would look like.

“There’s not going to be a lot of change here,” Khan said during his introductory press conference Friday. “I obviously have a lot of ideas that I want to implement and put in place, but I don’t see a lot of change.

“Obviously, being in this role, responsibilities shift a little bit, but I’ll have my hands on a lot of things that I’ve done before and, obviously, have my hands in other things. It’ll be a smooth transition.”

With Khan being an in-house hire, the transfer of power should be seamless for the team. Khan does not have to get familiar with his surroundings and how things are done within the Steelers organization, which means he and Pittsburgh can hit the ground running as they prepare for the 2022 season.