By admin 
PITTSBURGH – Each week of the NFL season can feel like an eternity. When things are going well, the time between game days can serve as an endless stream of excitement. When they aren’t, it can seem like the sky is falling.
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It’s not difficult to grasp which reality the Steelers are currently facing. Plenty of folks on the South Side are in need of some positive news, something good to happen to eliminate the bad vibes that surround the organization.
And no one within the team’s facility needs a lucky break more than Omar Khan.
Promoted to general manager in May 2022, Khan at first offered a notable element of hope to Steelers fans. Many of them felt the franchise had fallen behind the curve, that the “Steeler way” had become outdated. A new face at the helm suggested a new perspective had arrived.
But right now, it’s hard not to feel like things are trending in the wrong direction.
The Steelers enter Week 3 with plenty of issues, both on and off the field, that need to be addressed. Khan’s fingerprints can be found all over each one of them.
Let’s start on the field.
The offense has completely underwhelmed in its first two games. New Steelers coach Mike McCarthy has taken the brunt of the blame for the group’s lack of results, claiming his play-calling and overall preparation process this summer are what put them behind the 8-ball. But it might be bigger than that.
For one, the Steelers’ offensive players simply aren’t good enough. McCarthy refuted this notion Monday, saying the Steelers “don’t have a talent issue.” That’s exactly what he should say, but it’s not something that’s easy to believe.
This falls directly on Khan. He’s invested plenty of resources into the offense throughout his tenure, but it’s rather difficult to find much of any positive return on investment.
The most obvious example of this is up front.
Three of Khan’s four first-round draft picks were offensive tackles. The first, Broderick Jones, was a flat-out failure, something the organization admitted when it shipped him to Dallas for late-round picks.
The second, Troy Fautanu, remains a work in progress. He’s a player who is by no means a major concern but is also nowhere close to where the franchise likely hoped he’d be in the early weeks of his third professional season.
The third, Max Iheanachor, is a long-term project. The Steelers love his potential but they have yet to trust him enough to play ahead of Dylan Cook, who entered this year with four career regular-season starts.
The interior line was also of Khan’s creation. He drafted Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick and Spencer Anderson, as well. All three have seen plenty of time on the field in their young careers. None of them look like they’re improving.
Khan’s roster mess-ups are a bit more diverse outside the trenches. There are draft failures there, too – see Johnson, Kaleb – but there’s also been plenty of wasted money.
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He’s signed a pair of tight ends to contract extensions despite neither ever being a key component of the team’s game plan. He paid even more money to a receiver who can’t catch the ball consistently (DK Metcalf) and then immediately traded away a more talented one who could (George Pickens).
He complemented that position group by drafting Roman Wilson, who through three years still looks absolutely clueless when running a route.
And to top it all off, Khan is asking a 42-year-old quarterback – one with limited mobility and patience that seems to already be wearing thin – to run the entire show.
The Steelers’ defense has looked much better throughout Khan’s tenure, but it’s hard to credit him with much of that success. Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith were drafted by his predecessor. Perhaps he gets some points for keeping them around, but that’s it as far as the team’s greatest strength is concerned.
Khan has tried to build around the foundation he inherited.
He brought in a few notable names, such as Patrick Queen and Jalen Ramsey, but neither has played at the All-Pro level they did prior to their time in Pittsburgh. He also drafted solid contributors such as Keeanu Benton, Derrick Harmon, Nick Herbig and Payton Wilson, but none of those four offer true star potential.
Ironically, the one defensive player who does is the one Khan refuses to pay – Joey Porter Jr. – which takes us to the off-the-field element of their current predicament.
I think it’s safe to say neither side anticipated this Porter situation playing out the way it has. And while fans have a right to be frustrated with both parties, Khan deserves the bulk of the blame.
As noted above, he’s had no issue with extending just about anyone who wears black and gold, especially those he drafted. Three of those extensions went to players in Porter’s draft class despite none of them having contributed as much so far or offering more potential than Porter moving forward.
There’s no telling how the Porter contract dispute will get resolved. But anything less than a quick return to the field followed by an eventual long-term extension should be viewed as a massive failure by the front office – something that’s becoming an undeniable trend for this franchise as of late.
The year is young. There’s still time for all of this to turn around. McCarthy could be right. The offensive line could piece things together. Metcalf could remember how to catch a football. The offense as a whole could improve. And, heck, maybe the Porter situation could still have a happy ending.
But right now, all that exists is a long list of things that need to be better. And every single item on that list is a problem Khan created.
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This story was originally published September 23, 2026 at 2:41 AM.