Omar Out?

We have a lot of vets and a lot are going to get cut. Once timmons restructures we are down to like 8 or so mil over with more cuts coming. If we cut kemo and hampton we are at the cap ward is going to take less and im sure there will be other big cuts coming. Farrior and smith are probably going to retire as well and i think that is like 6 mil there we are fine. Also baltimore had to do a fire sale last year.

 

i wouldn't completely disagree, buuuuuut . . .

all of the restructuring has been done to keep guys like . . . polamalu, harrison, woodley, timmons, ike taylor, big ben, ward, hampton, aaron smith, keisel, etc . . .

can you imagine what the reaction would have been had we let any of those guys walk?

when you're in a position to win titles . . . when you have a core group of players that has the ability to win multiple titles . . . you keep them intact. would you rather be the '96 steelers fresh off a super bowl appearance and then let your hof cb, rod woodson, and your top wr, thigpen, and your stud lb, chad brown, and your starting qb, neil o (i don't care what anyone says, he was a good qb in our system), and on and on and on . . . do you just let 'em walk? because, when you do, you find yourself at 6-10 shortly after.

we may be up against the wall now, but we got the most out of those studs we paid for. and very, very soon, enormous cap hits are going to come off the books as they reach the twilight of their careers (ward, hampton, a smith, farrior, keisel, etc). and we can redistribute that money to ensure that we keep the next core group of guys available. because, at the moment, we've got some studs playing on our team for bargain basement prices (wallace, antonio brown, pouncey, etc).

i understand your logic (and agree with it in general) that you don't 'borrow from the future to live in the present', but i disagree with your stance in THIS CASE because i do believe that, when the pieces are in place for a title run, you do whatever you can to keep it intact.

 

I have always enjoyed your posts from both sites. I think you really bring up some good points in your response.

As a fan from the 70s to now, I can say that one thing that what really drove me crazy was seeing some of our best players leave and play other places. We used to have that rep that we would never sign our own players because we always felt we could replace them. Yes, I agree as a franchise we do seem to always know when is the right time to let many of our players go. (Yancey Thigpen and Kendrell Bell really come to mind.) However, I hated, and it was not okay, seeing Rod Woodson leave us and go win a Super Bowl with the Raisins.

Therefore, I was all in for signing out best players and keeping them here. I felt we were trying to show other players that we would start keeping our players and maybe this led to us overpaying. I admit, I do not get exactly how restructuring affects us down the line. Yes, we probably did give some players as mentioned in this thread too much money.

On a side note, I also heard rumors circulating that this Khan for GM has a linking somehow to Bill Cowher possibly returning as well (but not as coach.) Did anyone hear anything regarding this?

 

You want to put us in a crappy cap situation down the road just for a couple of measly Super Bowls? ...Oh yeah, me too.

Stealing from tomorrow to pay for today might be bad business for a local book store owner or homeowner, but in the NFL it can make a lot of sense. A) if you get what you wanted out of it (a SB) then it's worth it even if your team does crumble, which of course ours would not because we are the Steelers and B) you can always fix those books again later, even without an increase in money (although there often is one). To do that you sometimes have to ask a guy to take a pay cut, sometimes lose a guy. The way we do it, it's a washed-up guy we don't need anymore anyway. If he's not washed-up, we will usually steal from the future again and keep him until he is! It's not as if there's no way around it. There's always a way around it, and that's one reason it's so great to have a guy good at that job like Khan.

You say the Steelers aren't known for being active in free agency because we're always up against the cap. Khan's only been here since 2001. Before that, were we known for being active in free angency? No, and not only that, we were more like the Oakland A's, known for finding and raising talent from nowhere, then watching it leave for the big bucks as soon as it's famous. At least since he arrived we've been keeping our own talent instead of watching them win Super Bowls on other teams. There are also some sweet outside-the-organization pickups like Jeff Hartings (2001), James Farrior (2002), Ryan Clark (2006), none considered particularly splashy signings at the time, but I would say pretty good and big ones. A lot better than the Nnamdi and Haynesworth ones turned out to be, for example. Smaller ones like Cotchery, Moore... they're out there. But then again, I think most of the things I'm giving Khan credit for and most of the things you are blaming him for should be attributed to Colbert, not Khan. He's the one that makes these calls. He decides who to sign, and he okays every contract, whether it's Hartings or Farrior or Mahan. Khan isn't just out there overpaying people for the hell of it. I think the only people that have ever been outright overpaid are all those mediocre linemen that came through that we paid like they were good (then again, many here thought they were good. Most on the old board at some point wanted Kemo in the Pro Bowl).

Is Ben worth $100 million? When he's playing right, yeah probably. When he's not messed up for some reason, be it injury or whatever, he's one of the very best in the league and a Hall of Famer. Is he overpaid, considering all the baggage that comes with him? Injuries, inconsistency, off the field problems... I don't know, maybe, but do you really want to throw away Super Bowls to save a few bucks? Give up Ben and then having outstanding players like Miller, Harrison, Polamalu, Woodley, and so on, just leaves us with a talented, frustrating team that can't win a trophy.

When we won in '05, we had three starters that were not drafted/brought into the NFL by the Steelers (Hartings, Farrior, von Oelhoffen). In '08, we had three again (Clark, Farrior, Hartwig). I don't see what's so bad about the strategy of drafting well, keeping the good guys and rewarding them when they earn it, and dropping them or lowering their salary when they can't cut it, and plugging guys in from FA here and there when we need it. The alternative, letting our FAs go and bringing new FAs in all the time, would get us a lot more time on NFL Total Access, but then the team would be like a revolving door. There's something to be said for continuity. Not just for continuity's sake (keep BA so we don't have to change!), but when the players are good and clicking. This is a legitimate approach to free agency. Keep your own when you choose to, manage them well, plug in holes once in a while. Frankly, I'm often amazed at how many amazing players we have all on the same squad. It's even more amazing that many of them have been here forever.

 

I was having a great day until you reminded me of the Sean Mahan season. Although to be fair Kemo has dropped off significantly since he signed the contract.

 

Jim wexell on twitter: “@jimwexell: Do those ripping Steelers for pushing their cap numbers back realize they restructured 2 young players and the cap will soon explode w TV $?”

 

But it will explode for everyone else too. Maybe the Steelers won't have to cut guys to get under an inflated cap number, but they won't have the money for FA's, or available to resign their guys that the others teams do. It's still a disadvantage.

 

WHO CARES ABOUT FREE AGENTS. THE STEELERS SURE IN THE HELL DONT. Sorry but im so tired of hearing what about free agency we are never active in free agency. Also we were over the cap last year and signed cotch

 

haha!! the mahan thing caught me by surprise too. i kind of scrunched up my face and pulled back from the screen and in a 'wtf' tone exclaimed, "mahan?!"

 

I hope Omar stays. raying:

 

You know if things keep rolling when he leaves then he was just a memeber of the organization. If the wheels come off then he was the most important guy, the brains of the operation- works that way with the guys in my business. If the doors close then we let the wrong guy go..someone F'd up.

How is GB negotiator? the Pats? I mean this guy isnt just loaded with great charm saving the team with his ways of working a deal. Guys are going to get their money, no way around it. He may have to shift the way it ****s but every team does it. (The Steelers tried to let it all come to a head with the un capped year I bet) Teams see how it works and do the same.

Another thing, your not up and over the cap when you have mostly young guys and are rebuilding/ or not very talented guys/ or very average skill position people.

I dont worry about it. People (esp Steelers Fans) have chicken little in em. Look at some of the guys that have left here- Nickerson, Chad Brown, Capers, LeBeau, Woodson, Burress, O donnell, Porter, Kevin Greene, Faneca, Mulakey, Gailey,Cowher, Searcy , the fullback position and so on, I have heard some Steeler fan/(s) always proclaim the sky is falling after any one of those guys left. Right now IF Lebeau left there would be so much chicken littling in here it would be sad.

NFL teams are full of smart people. Smarter guys than you find on team fans websites. They have deep pockets. They will be fine.

 

Exactly. In reality back on the last CBA and all (before/during the opt out of it/etc) I remember reading the Steelers (and probably other teams) were preparing for what the cap SHOULD be based on what it would have been going with the progression of the old CBA. But with this new one it lower it back down and such...and I heard that yes with the TV deals or whatever its going to jump up a lot more. So i do not think the Steelers did bad in managing the cap...its just not what they expected (not saying they still wouldnt be over it but still).

Also Kahn is not going anywhere...he isnt even interviewing so everyone can relax.

 

It may not seem like they do...but they definitely monitor FA's and if someone interests them they go for it. They've signed mid level guys and such without a problem over the years. But just because they dont jump in head first/etc doesnt mean they dont care or dont look into FAs. Thats just a dumb assumption to think ANY team would ignore FA's.

 

Rams hire their GM, Falcons director of player personnel Les Snead, so I hope this means Omar is staying.

 

Im sure they look but rarerly go at it. For the most part they use it for filler when needed. The only FAs that have made an impact that come to mind our the bus hartings and farrior i know the bus was a trade but i view that as the same thing. Thats as of late or what the past 15 years. Im sure im missing some but for the most part thats it. Some we have brought in have been downright bad. Hartwig and scott hell i will even through el in there. So yes they look but it has to be a good deal for the steelers.

 

Yep, he took himself out of the running for the GM job with the Rams. From today's PPG :

Khan stays put
Steelers executive Omar Khan took himself out of the running for the general manager's job with the St. Louis Rams. The Rams received permission from Steelers president Art Rooney II to speak with Khan last week, but no interview took place as Khan decided to remain in Pittsburgh. Khan, 35, has been an executive with the Steelers and their chief contract negotiator the past 11 years. He was a finalist for the Seattle Seahawks general manager's job two years ago, and reportedly would be paired as a general manager with Bill Cowher if the former Steelers coach returns to coaching.

 

So Khan is 35 and has been the chief contract negotiator for 11 years, so since he was 24? That's pretty impressive.

 

yeah, no kidding. i've never even seen what the guy looked liked. i pictured him either in a three-piece suit with a turban or looking like a rogue vulcan. khaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_ro ... 1263223905


He doesn't look like his name at all

 

An article on him possibly being interviewed by the Rams had this picture

 

Yup, that's what I noticed when reading the PPG article (http://post-gazette.com/pg/12043/1209685-66.stm) about him withdrawing his name from the Rams GM search. Was about to post when I saw Jay beat me to it! Heck, when I was 24 my main concern was determining which bar to go to on the weekend (and Wednesday, and Thursday) in college. Here's this dude pulling in six figures at 24!

 

Omar Kahn looks a lot like Kevin Colbert!

 

Yup, ya'all beat me to it...unbelievable that a young kid like that breaks into the executive ranks of an organization like the Steelers and leaves his mark like that. The Rams interviewing him for a GM job at 35 says it all. Are GM's typically this young around the league? It's truly impressive, the success he's achieved at this point in life. Way to go, Khan!

 

That's weird, I pictured him more like this



only with a Steelers hat on instead.

 

I knew he was very young when he started, but I didn't know he was that young. I thought more like late 20s. And he didn't just get the job, he killed it. That is really impressive.