Rooney: GM Candidate Brandon Hunt ‘Knows the Steelers Way’

Kevin Colbert is officially stepping down from his role as general manager after the the 2022 NFL Draft.

That means, for the first time in over two decades, the Steelers will be looking to hire a new general manager. While the hire could certainly be external, the internal candidates of Brandon Hunt and Omar Khan are especially exciting.

President Art Rooney II said that both Hunt and Khan interviewed for the Steelers’ open general manager position already. However, he does not want to change structure and wishes to keep the order of what the Steelers have done in tact. Still, both of these guys have experience with the organization going back as far as 15 or more years.

In particular, Hunt is a homegrown talent for the Steelers. He is from Pittsburgh, went to Pine Richland, and attended IUP. It is the fact that he is a homegrown, to Rooney, that makes him such an attractive candidate for the opening.

“Brandon, number one, started out with us,” Rooney said. “We trained him, Kevin trained him. He knows the Steelers way. He spent time in Houston, so it’s not like he hasn’t been outside these walls. I think that was good experience for him. As he has moved through the years, he’s taken on additional responsibilities and handled them well. I think Brandon is someone that has the kind of experience we will be looking for. He’s a good candidate.”

As Rooney notes, Hunt has plenty of lush and colorful experience in his NFL resume. He started out with Pittsburgh, but was then hired away to go with the Texans. Coming back to Pittsburgh in 2010, Hunt was named the pro scouting coordinator after Doug Whaley was hired as the general manager of the Buffalo Bills.

This does not mean Hunt is going to be the next general manager. However, Rooney’s mention of talent evaluation as one of the main qualities they look for in their new general manager may steer away from Khan to a degree. That does not mean he is shut out of the candidacy, but things may be sliding ever so slightly more to Hunt.