Steelers News

First and 10: Interest in Brandon Hunt Puts Focus on Steelers GM Choice

Published

2 years ago

May 18, 2022

The Steelers general manager search that has been going on for seemingly forever is winding down, with the team continuing with second interviews with candidates this week. But it seems pretty clear that the team’s GM search should boil down to one question: How good to the Steelers think Brandon Hunt is?

Because as the search has dragged on, and with Hunt having now interviewed with the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills for positions in those organizations since starting the process with the Steelers, it seems pretty clear that other teams think he’s pretty good. If Hunt doesn’t get the Steelers job, it seems likely that someone else will poach him. And if you have a candidate worth poaching on your own staff, why look elsewhere?

The increased role that Hunt was given during the Steelers’ pre-draft process suggests that at the very least, Kevin Colbert thought he was pretty good.

The Steelers have gone outside the organization for most of their general manager and head coach hires over the years, so going with Hunt would be breaking their mold a little bit. But the Steelers have just one experienced general manager in their candidate pool. It’s likely that they’ll be taking something of a chance on whoever they pick. Why not the rising star in your own organization?

It has been suggested that the Steelers could find a way to split the role, and that makes sense, with a more business-savvy person supervising that side of things while Hunt’s heavy scouting background runs the football world. That could be a way for the team to keep both him and vice president Omar Khan in the fold.

But whatever the solution, it will all hinge on whether the Steelers agree with the rest of the league’s assessment that Hunt is worth pursuing.