Steelers Now
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer recently created a list of names that are on the cusp of becoming NFL general managers. Pittsburgh Steelers assistant GM Andy Weidl was tabbed as one of the candidates.
“Another product of the Ozzie Newsome school of Scouting. Weidl and [Joe] Douglas worked hip-to-hip for years (first in Baltimore, then Philly)—and Douglas once tried to bring Weidl to the Jets to be his No. 2,” Breer wrote. “It didn’t happen, so this gifted scout, who cut his teeth on the college trail, had to wait a little longer to get the sort of role he now serves with the Steelers, where he more or less runs the scouting operation for general manager Omar Khan.”
The Miami Dolphins currently have a vacant general manager position, so Weidl is a name to watch in the coming weeks as Miami searches for their next GM. There will be several GM openings after Week 18, as well.
Weidl formerly worked under Joe Douglas while was the vice president of player personnel for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2016-19. Weidl was the Eagles’ assistant director of player personnel from 2016-17 and became director of player personnel in 2019. He took over as vice president of player personnel upon Douglas’ departure in 2020.
Weidl held that job until he became the assistant general manager under Omar Khan in his native Pittsburgh in 2022. Khan and Weidl have reshaped the Steelers’ roster with a collection of shrewd moves in free agency, and especially in the draft, where Weidl has overseen a total revamp of the team’s offensive line.
Weidl has been a general manager candidate in the past, including for the Steelers, where he was among the candidates that interviewed for the job that Khan now holds.
Weidl seems comfortable with his hometown Steelers, and has an elevated role compared to some assistant general managers, because Khan does not have a scouting background, so it would take an enticing opportunity to get him to leave Pittsburgh, but there are only 32 NFL general manager jobs, and unlike coaching positions, they don’t come open very often.
Weidl is a Mount Lebanon native and got his start with the Steelers in 1998 as a player personnel assistant under the tutelage of Tom Donahue and Bill Nunn. Since then, he has made stops with the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens before moving to the Eagles in 2016. Weidl helped construct Super Bowl winners with the Eagles in 2017 and the Ravens in 2012.
Alan Saunders contributed.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Executive Tabbed as Future NFL GM
