The Miami Herald is confirming what was previously suspected. Omar Khan is not a finalist for the Dolphins general manager position. According to Armando Salguero of the Herald, the Dolphins are narrowing their search down to a couple finalists. Salguero writes, “Late last night I was told by one NFL source two candidates who are definitely out are Pittsburgh’s Omar Khan and Tennessee’s Lake Dawson.”

As I opined a couple of weeks ago, there was never much of a chance of Khan leaving to the take the position with the Dolphins. We’re safe from worry for the next year or two, when the inevitable happens again. One thing does seem unavoidable: one of these years the Steelers will lose Khan to a general manager opening. Until that time though, we can still make the tattered Star Trek references.

Reports are coming out indicating that Steelers Director of Football & Business Administration, Omar Khan, had his interview with the Dolphins today. ESPN writer Scott Brown reports that he interviewed with the team today, and that his was the first, though, reports from earlier in the day state otherwise.

Steelers director of football administration Omar Khan interviewed with Dolphins today. First one to interview for GM job.

— Scott Brown (@ScottBrown_15) January 10, 2014

#Steelers exec Omar Khan headed to Miami today for #Dolphins GM interviews. #Cardinals exec Jason Licht did, as well, I’m told.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 10, 2014

First Dolphins GM interview today is Arizona's Jason Licht. Details:http://t.co/jpdCF7GKWZ

— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) January 10, 2014

Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reported that Arizona’s Jason Licht was the first interview of the day. Salguero also reports that Cleveland Browns assistant GM Ray Farmer is the leading candidate. The Dolphins have been busy today interviewing and lengthening the list of candidates.

I've been told that Dolphins asst. GM Brian Gaine met with Stephen Ross for three hours today, and the meeting went very well.

— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) January 10, 2014

So far, Miami has 7 candidates by my count, and have expressed interest in Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta, though it’s rumored that he declined. The team released a statement yesterday that would seem to address some of the concerns I noted yesterday, though I still don’t think Khan winds up there. Stranger things have happened, though.

Adem Schefter reports that among several other candidates, the Dolphins have in fact requested the Steelers permission to interview Omar Khan.

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/421400098115829760

As I posted earlier, this doesn’t concern me. We will have to wait and see if the Steelers grant them permission, and if he does in fact attend an interview with the Miami Dolphins.

It wouldn’t be January without Steelers salary cap guru Omar Khan being mentioned as a possible GM candidate somewhere. It seems that like clock work, Steelers fans, bloggers, and media members start speculating about who might covet Khan to replace a recently fired GM. (More certainly, a blogger writes an article around a beat writer’s speculative tweet.)

In the last few years Khan has been in the race for various general manager positions including teams like Seattle, St. Louis, and the NY Jets.  It’s no secret that Khan has aspirations to be a GM somewhere, but the idea that Khan would be interested in the position in Miami is very hard to believe. The Dolphins have earned a reputation for having a hostile and restrictive work environment. We’re not talking about bullying in the locker room here, we’re talking about office politics, power battles, and struggles for control.

The team and former GM Jeff Ireland reportedly “agreed to part ways” after a six year tenure. It’s probably the first time that I can recall hearing of such a parting. Miami Herald columnist Armando Salguero wrote a very telling article on the rather bizarre and hostile structure of the Dolphins management hierarchy, and it suffices to say that Khan, who was promoted to the Steelers Director of Football & Business Administration last year, wouldn’t be quick to return a call from Ross and company.  Here’s a quote from Salguero:

…the same way star head coach candidates avoided the Dolphins like the plague in 2012 because Ross went looking with a general manager he wanted to force on people, now the Dolphins could lose out on a star talent evaluator because that person must accept getting aboard a ship Philbin and Aponte are already trying to navigate.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are another team who are on the hunt for a general manager, so who knows, perhaps we’ll hear Omar Khan’s name in headlines soon. Don’t forget that the Steelers hired Samir Suleiman last spring. The move at the time was interpreted by many to be a safety net, should the Steelers lose Khan to a GM position in the future. Suleiman has years of experience with contract negotiations and salary cap management during his tenure with the St. Louis Rams.