Steelers GM Omar Khan Doesn’t View His Approach as Aggressive

ORLANDO, Fla. — At the NFL owner’s meetings on Sunday, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said he never envisioned landing both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields this offseason, and gave credit to general manager Omar Khan for making the complicated series of transactions work well for the Steelers.

“Through conversation and work — and can’t give Omar enough credit — we were able to acquire both guys,” Tomlin said.

Since 2022, the Steelers quarterbacks threw a league-low 25 touchdown passes. Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph are all gone now. Khan knew that upgrading the game’s most position was pivotal, and he went out and got two better options.

Khan doesn’t view himself as aggressive, though. He just wants to win.

“I don’t necessarily consider myself or describe myself as aggressive. I just I’m trying to do everything I can to help. I owe it to Steeler Nation to do everything I can to try to get to the Super Bowl,” Khan said at the NFL owner’s meetings on Monday. “Every decision that we make and that we talk about, every move that we make and talk about, it’s based on that. Sometimes we make moves, we make decisions, and sometimes we don’t. But it’s always with the intent of doing what we can to get to the second week in February.”

The Steelers’ seven-year playoff drought is the longest for the franchise since pre-1972. They only have two players on the current roster who’ve experienced a playoff win with the Steelers — Cam Heyward and Chris Boswell.

Back in January during a season-ending press conference, Steelers president Art Rooney II expressed that he’s seen enough of the Steelers losing in the playoffs.

“We all share that frustration that (Art) has,” Khan said. “We’re sitting at home during the Super Bowl and that’s not where we want to be. And I think we all share that frustration and we all know we have to be better organizationally in every department.”

Finding a center is next up on Khan’s do-to list to build the Steelers into a Super Bowl caliber team. Khan is staying patient and not panicking, however. Everything will work itself out.

That approach certainly worked out in acquiring both Wilson and Fields.

“You just have to be patient,” Khan said. “I’m confident by the time we get to the start of the season, you will have the right 53 guys for us regardless of position, but you just have to be patient and understand that. When you lose one opportunity, it’s not the last opportunity. There’s going to be an opportunity to address it in other ways. So be patient, something’s going to happen.”

Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Orlando.