Steelers Made Right GM Move - At Strangest Time

After signing head coach Mike Tomlin to a three-year extension last offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers followed suit by handing general manager Omar Khan his own new deal that will keep him in the organization through the 2028 campaign.

It's a well-deserved show of support from the Steelers towards Khan, who has spent upwards of two decades with the team in various roles and took over as the GM after the 2022 NFL Draft once Kevin Colbert stepped down.

Pittsburgh has made the playoffs in each of the past two seasons and continued its long run of non-losing seasons under Tomlin with Khan in an elevated role over the past three years.

There's some added pressure to win in 2025 after the Steelers finished last season on a five-game losing streak, and Khan has wasted no time boosting the team's roster over recent months.

From acquiring and extending DK Metcalf to signing Darius Slay and Aaron Rodgers before landing Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith from the Miami Dolphins earlier this week, Khan has helped craft a playoff-caliber group that's in position to make some noise in the postseason.

His 2023 and 2024 draft classes have looked rather promising as well, coming away with the likes of Joey Porter Jr., Keeanu Benton and Nick Herbig in the former of those two years before landing Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier and Payton Wilson, among others, in the latter.

As an organization, Pittsburgh values continuity and a strong culture. That approach has largely paid off considering it is one of the model franchises around the league, so it comes as no surprise that Khan will remain in tow for the long haul.

At the same time, though, extending him now makes it infinitely tougher to move on if the bottom drops out of the Steelers in the near future. The team had some major issues pop up last year, and ownership making sweeping changes likely isn't in the cards if the same outcome materializes this time around as well.

Again, that's not to say Khan's work as Pittsburgh's GM wasn't worthy of an extension. He's certainly proven himself as being more than capable in his role, but the timing is a bit peculiar.