Steelers Keep Key Front Office Piece as Falcons Hire Elsewhere
The Pittsburgh Steelers are holding onto one of their most influential front office minds. Assistant general manager Andy Weidl, who interviewed for the Atlanta Falcons’ general manager vacancy earlier this offseason, will remain in Pittsburgh after the Falcons opted to go in a different direction.
Atlanta is reportedly hiring Chicago Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham to fill the role, closing the book on the last open general manager position in this year’s hiring cycle.
For the Steelers, this is a quiet but meaningful win. Weidl has been the right-hand man to GM Omar Khan since joining the front office in 2022, playing a pivotal role in shaping the team’s roster-especially in the trenches. A former offensive lineman at Villanova, Weidl has brought that same grit and attention to detail to Pittsburgh’s draft strategy, helping overhaul both lines of scrimmage over the past three years.
Take a look at the names brought in during the Khan-Weidl era: Broderick Jones, Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick, Derrick Harmon, Yahya Black, and Jack Sawyer. That’s a clear commitment to building from the inside out. It’s not just about flashy picks-it’s about long-term stability and physical dominance, the kind of foundation Pittsburgh has always prided itself on.
This was the first time Weidl was publicly linked to a GM interview, though he’s long been viewed as a rising executive with the résumé to match. His career path is steeped in football tradition and front office success.
A native of Mount Lebanon, just outside Pittsburgh, Weidl got his start with the Steelers back in 1998 as a player personnel assistant, working under legends like Tom Donahoe and Bill Nunn. Since then, he’s made impactful stops with the Saints, Ravens, and most notably, the Eagles.
In Baltimore, Weidl was part of the personnel team that built the Super Bowl XLVII champion squad in 2012. Later, in Philadelphia, he helped construct the 2017 Eagles team that hoisted the Lombardi Trophy. His time with the Eagles saw him climb the ladder quickly-starting as assistant director of player personnel in 2016, then director in 2019, and finally vice president of player personnel in 2020 after Joe Douglas left for the Jets.
It’s easy to see why teams like the Falcons would be interested. But it’s also clear why the Steelers are thrilled to keep him in the fold.
The Falcons, meanwhile, have undergone a full leadership reset. Former GM Terry Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris were both let go on January 4. Since then, Atlanta has hired Kevin Stefanski as head coach and brought in Matt Ryan-not the quarterback, but the newly appointed team president-to help steer the franchise forward alongside owner Arthur Blank.
With Cunningham now set to take over the GM role in Atlanta, and Jon-Eric Sullivan already in place in Miami, the 2026 GM hiring cycle has officially wrapped. For Weidl, it’s back to work in Pittsburgh, where his fingerprints are all over a roster that’s being built to win the old-fashioned Steelers way-tough, physical, and from the line of scrimmage out.