Omar Khan to remain with Steelers; Bodden should be the Steelers top target

Pittsburgh Steelers executive Omar Khan who holds the title of Business & Football Administration Coordinator will remain on the Steelers staff for the 2010.

Khan who was believed to be a finalist for the Seattle Seahawks GM position was told late last week that the Seahawks were going in another direction.

Local reports indicated that Khan was one of the two finalists for the job along with former Titans GM Floyd Reese but that wasn’t the case.

Green Bay Packers director of football operations John Schneider has been chosen as the new general manager of the Seattle Seahawks, per ESPN.

Khan, 32, has spent 9 years in the Steelers organization.

One of the Steelers top priorities heading into the draft and free agency is upgrading their secondary. There is a belief that getting another starting cornerback alongside Ike Taylor is more of a priority than upgrading the safety position.

However, there continues to be doubters that the Steelers will go out and find that cornerback in free agency. This is the time where they need to make that under the radar James Farrior kind of splash in free agency.

One player who should be at the top of the Steelers wishlist is 28 year cornerback Leigh Bodden who played college football at Duquesne.

Bodden, who had interest in joining the Steelers last off-season, never received an offer from Pittsburgh and signed a one year deal with the Patriots.

If Bodden hits the open market again this off-season, he should be one of the Steelers top priorities but he won’t be.

The Steelers are more likely to bank on the development of Keenan Lewis and Joe Burnett along with another high draft pick or look for a rebound season from William Gay as early indications are the Steelers plan on bringing Gay back.

As Mike Reiss writes, “In a Patriots season filled with inconsistency, there were only a few players on the roster who avoided volatile ups and downs. Cornerback Leigh Bodden was one of them.”

Reiss added, “Bodden is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, and if he winds up elsewhere, this is what the Patriots will be missing:”

(1) a player who tied for the team lead with five interceptions and led the club with 17 passes defended; (2) a 15-game starter at right cornerback who played 82 percent of the team’s snaps, the third highest total among defenders; (3) a solid player in run support.

Bodden, 6-ft-1, 193 lbs, brings to the table what the Steelers lack; playmaking ability.