Omar Khan Complaint Thread

I'm not his biggest detractor, but I'm starting to wonder if Khan is the answer for the Steelers. I will start with the caveat that we don't know how much control he has over some decisions. Tomlin has considerable power in the organization.

This isn't entirely about drafting. I think Khan has been an improvement over what Colbert did in his final seasons. Broderick Jones isn't panning out so far, but overall, the last three drafts look solid.

We can't say the same about trades and other roster-building decisions. My biggest complaint is one I've posted in other threads. Khan left the Steelers with only one viable starting receiver for two seasons and that has severely limited the offense. I believe the Steelers would have been a playoff team, one capable of winning a game or two in the postseason, with Pickens. Without him, I'm not even sure they can stay above .500. Part of this is what Pickens can do. Part is failing to acquire a viable replacement. It is too easy for teams to load up on the run. It is too easy to cover the Steelers' receivers. That falls on Khan.

That isn't his only mistake. The plan in the secondary is a failure. The Fitzpatrick trade hasn't really worked out. Ramsey isn't better and Smith hasn't done much on offense. Khan foolishly left the Steeles counting on Thornhill and Slay as starters. Slay has struggled and he can't stay healthy. Thornhill was so bad they just cut him. They can talk all they want about how using Echols as the nickel corner was the plan when they signed him, but that doesn't mean it was a good plan. He isn't good. He is a poor run defender who gets beat far too consistently in coverage.

Instead of addressing those problems at the trade deadline, he turned to the scrap heap. I like the Samuel signing, but there are good reasons he was available.

 

Yeah Khan deserve some heat for the wide receiver position.....I understand the Johnson and Pickens trade, but the problem is he had no replacements for them.

The other problem with Khan is that the Steelers have become increasingly older. He's signing too many older players to stay competitive, but it's making the Steelers a team with high a floor but weak ceiling.

Maybe it's not entirely his fault since I don't know how much power Tomlin has in the decisions, but I don't like the direction the team is heading right now. They've needed a complete rebuild since Roethlisberger retired, but they haven't done it yet.

 

That's the piece for me. The vet signings feel like all Tomlin.

 

Oh boy.....

I've said it so many times here; "Omar is not an awful GM(Term used loosely) but he is mediocre at best."

From one standpoint, it may be how the power distribution is allocated. That in itself is a problem if true.

But you can bank on it, across the league, Omar is seen about how I said above. Some talking heads are a little harder on him for the inexplicable 2-years of WR neglect.
The big measuring stick will be the solution to QB which HAS TO BE DONE.
For a real GM, if "that" QB is out there, and the need is real, and coaching and player acquisition and scouts are agreeing, the trade has to be made. You cannot just hope a QB falls miraculously out of the heavens into your practice field...

Another wedge is his actual role.
A real GM can wonder, "why are all the players I pick failing here and not on other teams?!"
It's the coaching stupid.
Look, Belichick got fired. It took a couple years for them to figure his ways are no longer working. So I don't buy any excuse straddling that line of reasoning.
The owner cashes in the team wins Super Bowls.

The flip side is, are the players really doing better elsewhere? In that scenario the failure is in the GM's lap - his scout's suck.

Lastly, Omar is NOT new to this. He has been in this organization and had input since 2021.
He gets credit for working with Colbert for signing 30+ Pro Bowl players and helping to assemble 2 Super Bowl winners.
So, the bad needs to be assigned too.

There's a lot more I could go on about, but the post becomes too long.

 

I only hope other opinions are considered in the process.
Silly not to
Arthur (Jones) Smith
WR receiver coach

Props to the OP for the thread organization skills
bravo

 

Ben retired after the 2021 season. The only offensive starter that year still on the roster is Muuuuth! The only defensive starters are Cam, TJ, and Highsmith.
The team has indeed been rebuilt since Ben retired. In the 3 drafts since, we have an entirely new OL, RB room, and WR room. We have added to the DL and Edge for when our vets retire.
Still building the secondary but progress has been made at the very least with JPjr.
Gotta have a franchise QB.
WR room is weak, but TE room may be the strongest it has ever been.


Blowing it all up and starting over is just a dumb take on this team. Plus, even if it's one and done, this team still makes the playoffs since Ben retired.

 

I would agree. We do have a lot of younger players (some will be backups, but decent ones) and blowing it all up should not be a requirement.
Get a QB, beef up that WR bunch... allocate budget more correctly and you really easily have a real contender - a team on the rise.
Right now, we are the 2nd oldest club.... therefore, all the old guys must go.

 

Yep. When you hear him talk about a signing it's "pedigree" and "history in league". These are Tomlin kinds of comments. I cannot believe the Steelers scouting missed so badly on players like Thornhill. It just feels like a Tomlin override to sign.

 

The steelers have the second oldest team in the league right now or the young players are not very special if you compare with the rest of the league....

 

The 2nd oldest is an average of ages. When ARod, Cam, Slay, and Boz all retire that average will drop considerably.

 

I don't have a lot of beef with Kahn. Right now I believe he is between a rock and a hard spot. They are trying to win now but also rebuild both trenches.

I think the tale of the tape will be after this season. The window will probably be shut for Heyward and perhaps even Watt.

With 12 picks next draft you are going to see changes.

 

2nd oldest in STARTERS which is what they have pretty much as they have done before

 

The local media said the situation with Pickens was untenable, which explains why he got traded.

 

Or Khan wanted to sign guys that wouldn't affect the comp picks like Slay etc.

 

No doubt.
But we could cut into those who will be 31 which brings to total to around 12 players.... 10 keeping TJ (I don't think anyone will trade for his contract anyway) and Boz.
We have another 3 on IR that need to go, maybe a 4th.

We have 2 on the practice squad but not worried about those.

 

That's the balance of power.
GM needs to be able to say, "I don't agree and we can't spend money on that player."

But a new coaching system is not going to have that supposed power.
I more inclined to subscribe to you good/bad scenarios.... Omar is just not a good FA person and doesn't have the skills to rebuke such players.
I think Tomlin knows many of those players and probably does make suggestions. A little better GM would have his Pro Scouts out there already compiling lists.

 

Probably already losing Seumalu after this season. He's 30+. TJ and Ramsey would be the oldest after all that I think. We've done the age thing before and I think that's what I remember from those conversations. A 41, 36, 35, 34, and a few in the 30-32 range. Less than 10 overall.

 

I am a big supporter of Khan and the scouting department. Top 5 in the league.

Now, the big misses are always cardinal. Number one is quarterback. Jobs are lost due to those decisions or indecisions. He went for Russ, he want for Rodgers, Fields, following Tomlin's maniacal panicky search for comfort and chance for Super Bowl. Instead, he should have told Tomlin to stfu and just coach a rookie QB to Super Bowl.
Second big miss: defensive backs. It's now three years into the regime, and defensive backs group is not built. He is still searching for answers.

 

Khan is what I do like and a breath of fresh air. They tell him to get someone or something and come H3ll or high water he does what he’s told. The reverse is true, as well. They want someone gone, he does so.
He didn’t wake up and say, “we have to get rid of GP”. That’s not his call and he’s not the one that’s had problems with WRs.

I like the Khan-Weidl combo which means will prolly lose the later to another team sometime next year. Khan IS the one thing I DO LIKE management wise.

IMO, of course.

 

Link?

 

Why are you assuming he didn't have a say in getting rid of Pickens? He is the GM. Are you assuming he is just doing whatever Tomlin tells him to do with no power of his own?

Getting rid of Pickens without a viable replacement was incompetence. Khan failed miserably in that regard. Also, he is a former scout. He should also know that Thornhill was useless. Trusting him as a starter in the secondary falls on Khan. So does trusting Slay. So does trusting Echols.

 

Wow....
Of course there's the SF WR deal that fell through, and the Meyers deal that fell through, and well we can't forget Pickens....
Other than that, he's ok...
Wait....

 

Drafting- whether its scouting, poor development or just bad luck his first two draft classes feels like a C/C- to me. Guys like JPJ and Benton have stagnated and aren't progressing much. Such a far cry from the day of such classes when people around the league graded them from an A to B+. A guy like McCormick seems like an average at best RG and if the BPA in the next year's draft (2R) is a RG, I'm upgrading the position, and if there isn't one there, I'm ok with McCormick as the starter.

FA- just far too many over-the-hill vets that had their best years a couple of years ago. Even a younger ILB in Queen hasn't lived up to his billing & contract. Sure 95% of these moves has been short term stopgaps, but it would be nice to get a few guys going to their 2nd deal and perhaps keeping them around for the next ten-ish years. Too much short term planning and not enough of a combination of short & long term planning. Grade D-

Trades, getting something for Kendrick Green and a 32 for Claypool was a work of art. Falling short of multiple trades for a WR is a huge blemish on his record. Overall grade here is a C.

Frankly, if we fired Khan (which we won't) and hired Weidle tomorrow, I wouldn't lose sleep and would be thrilled with the change. And not all of this may be Khan's fault, but somebody has to be the fall guy if Tomlin isn't going to be it.

 

The thing I LOVE about Kahn is that he sets a value on a player and seems to stand strong on that value. Refusing to over pay.

IMO this helped us land guys like Fields and Rodgers for much less than was predicted prior to their signings.

The downside of Kahn so far is that he's gone into two seasons in a row with glaring deficiencies at WR2. While I find this frustrating, I think it's a combination of the thing I like about him (refusal to overpay) and the fact that we aren't really in position to compete for a SB (with or without a good WR2).

I also would have liked to have seen us get at least some kind of concession out of Watt in either of his last two contracts. But instead, he "beat" the team on AAV, guarantees, and term in both contracts. I suppose that's the nature of being an elite player who's the face of the franchise. Particularly when that player has an older brother who's been through the process before so it's harder to "pull the wool over their eyes". I don't blame Watt for this...I'd be looking to squeeze every last penny out of a team if I was an NFL player too.