Steelers GM loves Iowa Hawkeyes

Steelers General Manager Omar Khan didn’t have his best week in the public eye.

 

What should have been a routine draft moment quickly turned into a viral misfire. The sequence involving USC wide receiver Makai Lemon spread across social media within minutes. Lemon was on the phone with Pittsburgh and believed he was about to become a Steeler. Moments later, everything changed. Someone handed him another phone.

 

This time, it was the Eagles. They made the pick.

In a league built on control, this was chaos.

 

The clip didn’t go viral because it was shocking. It went viral because it exposed something teams fight to hide — uncertainty.

 

And uncertainty lingers.

 

Failure rarely gets acknowledged in this business. Still, this draft carried a quiet residue of “almost.” Pittsburgh held three third-round picks and had real flexibility. As names came off the board, opportunities opened. The Steelers could have moved up. They didn’t.

 

Because the truth is simple. The longer you wait, the fewer difference-makers remain.

However, while the spotlight stayed on what didn’t happen, another trend continues to take shape under Khan.

 

Iowa.

 

Not the usual powerhouses like Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs, Ohio State Buckeyes, or Michigan Wolverines.

 

Instead, Pittsburgh keeps circling back to Iowa Hawkeyes.

 

That program sits in Iowa City and has been shaped for decades by Kirk Ferentz. Since taking over in 1999, Ferentz has built a system that doesn’t rely on flash. It produces players who understand their role and execute it.

Offensive linemen. Tight ends. Disciplined defenders.

 

They don’t always headline draft night. That’s where Khan’s focus keeps drifting.

 

While the rest of the league chases traits and upside, Pittsburgh leans into reliability. The picks may not trend. They don’t always win the moment.

 

But they fit.

 

And after a week where control slipped, consistency might be exactly what the Steelers needed to feel comfortable when it felt odd watching their selections come off the draft board.