The Pittsburgh Steelers have already had an extremely busy offseason, as the franchise continues to narrow its search for the next head coach. However, Pittsburgh is far from the only team looking to fill a vacancy, not just in a coaching role either. As the league-wide game of musical chairs starts to figure itself out, the Steelers are at risk of losing their assistant GM, Andy Weidl.
Late Tuesday night, Mark Kaboly reported that Weidl would be interviewing for the Atlanta Falcons GM opening. Speaking on Wednesday, Kaboly didn’t sound very sure that Weidl would actually land that job. But he does mark the next offseason as a time when Weidl could leave the Steelers.
“I don’t anticipate that happening. I think it’s honestly more of a next year type of conversation than this year. It’s his first real interview, right? For general manager, normally it does not happen that way. Of course, it could, but I wouldn’t anticipate him leaving. Next year, it would be a prime time for him to leave. His contract may be up, I’m not 100-percent sure on that,” Kaboly said Wednesday on 93.7 The Fan.
There have only been two GM vacancies this offseason, with that pool being much less crowded than the head coach carousel. Miami had one earlier in the cycle, but that position has already been filled. The Falcons are now the only team looking to fill that role.
Andy Weidl has long been held in high regard in NFL circles. Yet this is his first known interview for a GM position. Many look at him as someone who could be a GM in the future, which is likely to happen.
However, it may not be in Atlanta. The Falcons have a new structure after just promoting their former franchise quarterback, Matt Ryan, to the President of Football role. Atlanta also just hired former Browns’ head coach Kevin Stefanski for its head coach opening. The Falcons will likely look into plenty of other names, and as the only current GM opening, that’s going to make things difficult for Weidl to land the job.
Yet Kaboly is right that Andy Weidl is an attractive option for the future. He has many connections across the NFL, and although the Steelers haven’t been especially successful in recent years, he and Omar Khan have made some solid moves together and kept the franchise competitive. If Weidl doesn’t land the Falcons’ job, he very well could be a hot name on the GM market next offseason.