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Thursday, January 09, 2014

Three former Steelers on Hall's final list of 15

Three men with ties to the Steelers are among the 15 finalists for induction into the NFL Hall of Fame this year.

Running back Jerome Bettis, linebacker Kevin Greene and coach Tony Dungy all made the final cut. They will be among those considered by the voting board during Super Bowl week this year. The inductees will be announced the day before the Super Bowl.

Bettis has been passed over the past few years while some other running backs - Marshall Faulk, Curtis Martin and Emmitt Smith - got in.

But Bettis is the lone running back on the final 15 list this year. That bodes well for him.

@ The Miami Dolphins have begun the search for their new general manager to replace Jeff Ireland and have asked permission to speak to Steelers Director of Football and Business Administration Omar Khan.

Khan has been interviewed for general manager positions before, but this might be the best fit for him outside of returning to his native Louisiana.

The Dolphins are trying like crazy to catch up to the Patriots in the AFC East and have some pieces in place.

At some point, he's going to get an offer elsewhere that he can't refuse.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

agreed, kahn will go at some point. unless, of course, he is the heir apparent to Colbert and Colbert plans on retiring soon.

Steve-O said...

I think it bodes well for Jerome that he's the only running back on the list (fingers crossed).

Anonymous said...

does anyone know what will happen if Khan does leave?

Anonymous said...

Khan was a beancounter fresh outta grad school at Tulane when they hired him, iirc. He's not a football guy. Not sure why he gets these sniffs every year. He's strictly a cap guy, and the Steelers cap situation has never been the envy of the league at any point. If I had to guess, these interviews are more to pick his brain, rather than any genuine interest they have in him as a GM. Steelers manage their cap contrary to the way most in the league now do it, yet have remained competitive. Probably wondering if they're missing something, what does he know that they don't. Just a theory.

Dale Lolley said...

Omar interned with the Tulane Football program. He's not "strictly" a cap guy. He's been around football long enough to know what he's looking for in players, etc.

As for what happens if he leaves, who knows? But they did hire Samir Auleiman this year as Football Administration Coordinator this year. He took over some of Omar's duties and tasks.

Anonymous said...

Ross said he's looking to give total control of draft and the 53 man roster to whoever he hires. And that he needs to have a strong background in talent evaluations. Given that, I have a hard time imagining Khan is a serious candidate for that job. On the surface it would seem that they're interviewing him to pick his brain, or maybe to improve their shakey standing with the Fritz Pollard Alliance.

Anonymous said...

I don't get the fascination with Kevin Greene by HOF voters. Yes, he has a boatload of sacks playing in systems where that was expected. But he also had only 5 career ints and, amazingly, no forced fumbles. Pretty much the definition of a 1 trick pony.

By comparison, James Harrison, in a 10 yr career, has fewer sacks, but more picks and an amazing 29 forced fumbles. Yet, I don't think anyone would argue Harrison belongs in the HOF.

Steve said...

The "Fritz Pollard Alliance"?

Anon, it's tough to say that Greene and his 160 career sacks doesn't belong when in recent years "one trick ponies" like Dean, Derrick Thomas and John Randle have been voted in. And I don't think Greene was really as one dimensional as Thomas, for one.