Colbert’s influence always will be there for Khan

A little more than two decades after hiring a 43-yearold with plenty of NFL experience but no football-playing resume to speak of to be the head executive in their front office, the Steelers hired a 45- year- old with plenty of NFL experience but no football-playing resume to speak of to be their general manager.

One replaces the other, parallels abound between a guy from the North Side and another from New Orleans. In between their appointments to the top of the Steelers’ executive flowchart, Kevin Colbert and Omar Khan worked side-by-side for 21 seasons, an eye for talent paired with a mind for the football business.

“What can I say?” Khan asked among his first remarks Friday during the news conference announcing him as Colbert’s successor. “Kevin and I have worked together for over 20 years, and I find it hard to believe that there’s two people in this business that have worked as well together as Kevin and I have for so long. It’s been an honor, and I’m excited that he’s always going to be just a phone call away for me.”

Like Colbert, Khan figured out at a young age that if he wanted a career in football, it wouldn’t be with cleats and pads. He didn’t go through quite as many odd jobs and career stepping stones as Colbert, but Khan paid dues in his own way.

That also meant countless hours of mentorship under Colbert, and Khan chuckled while saying he’s not sure yet if he’ll keep his same office at team headquarters or move into the vacant one. But he is sure of the first thing he learned from his longtime boss.

“When Joe Greene speaks, you listen,” Khan recounted with a smile. “That’s Number 1.”

The second most important piece of advice, one that Colbert also took and ran with when he was hired in 2000, was the organization’s philosophy to build a team through the draft. If there’s one tie that binds the Khan and Colbert comments 22 years apart, it’s the emphasis on upholding Steelers tradition.

“I can’t ever forget that, and I won’t,” Khan said. “He was always big on that, and that goes back to Art and [ Dan] Rooney, and that’s going to continue.”

Speaking of which, it sounds as though Khan will fill Colbert’s shoes when it comes to post-practice powwows with coach Mike Tomlin and Senior Bowl road trips when the draft process ramps up. There was nostalgia in Tomlin’s voice in January at his seasonending press conference when he touched on his scouting endeavors alongside Colbert, when the two simply “speak plain English” to each other.

“Just in general, my attitude is one that I own the responsibility of being an easy person to work with,” Tomlin said that day. “I make myself an easy person to work with because I don’t have side agendas. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ agenda is the agenda.”

Now it will be Khan setting that agenda more than ever, and he joked that he looks forward to drinking plenty of sweet tea on the pro day circuit with Tomlin because that’s “part of the job” — although he might opt for unsweetened. Of course, he and Tomlin might have to block out some time on the agenda for Khan’s predecessor.

While Colbert has stepped down as general manager and run his last draft, he has not called himself a retiree. He has left open the door to contribute to the franchise in a reduced role, and with Khan as his heir apparent, that seems likely.

“We’re still working through that process,” Khan said. “It’s really fluid, but I hope so. Kevin and I have a great relationship.

“There’s not going to be a lot of change here. I obviously have some ideas that I want to implement and put in place, but I don’t foresee a lot of change.”