Steelers have three outside candidates for GM position taken in Mobile, Ala. (Steelers)

KARL ROSER / STEELERS

Kevin Colbert

MOBILE, Ala. -- The Steelers are not only looking at potential draft picks at the Senior Bowl. They're also starting to put together a list of potential replacements for Kevin Colbert, as well.

According to sources, the Steelers have an initial list of people they would like to interview for the general manager position that includes outside candidates Ryan Cowden, currently the vice president of player personnel for the Titans, Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds and former Steelers scout and Bills GM Doug Whaley.

That trio would bring the list of people interviewed to replace Colbert, who will step down from the post he's held since 2000 following this year's draft, to five. Team president and owner Art Rooney II has already spoken to internal candidates Omar Khan, the Steelers' vice president of football & administration, and pro scouting coordinator Brandon Hunt.

Colbert is expected to continue with the Steelers in an advisory role.

The list of people interviewed also could grow to include Samir Suleiman, who left the Steelers in 2020 to join the Panthers. Suleiman recently was elevated by the Panthers to the position of director of player negotiations and salary cap manager, but could be interested in returning to Pittsburgh to replace Colbert.

Two other dark horse candidates include former Browns GM John Dorsey and former Colts GM Ryan Grigson. Dorsey is currently a senior personnel director with the Lions, while Grigson currently serving in an advisory role with the Browns. Both are well-liked by Colbert, who will have a hand in helping to name his replacement.

Cowden and Dodds have both gotten plenty of interviews of late for GM jobs but haven't gotten the nod.

Cowden, who just completed his sixth season with the Titans, recently interviewed for the GM opening with the Giants. He's also interviewed with Washington.

Dodds, has spent the past three seasons with the Colts, was a candidate with the Bears before withdrawing his name from that search, while the Raiders also put in a request to interview him for their GM opening.

Whaley came up through the Steelers' scouting department, leaving in 2013 to become the GM of the Bills, a position he held through 2017.

At issue for whomever the Steelers hire will be their front office structure. While Colbert has held the title of GM since 2010 after initially being hired as director of football operations, Rooney has final say on roster moves. And head coach Mike Tomlin also wields power within the organization, as well, as the GM and head coach are considered equals who answer directly to Rooney.

That's a dynamic Rooney isn't interested in changing.

"We’ll be hiring somebody who can fill all of those responsibilities, which includes obviously No. 1 being a talent evaluator and putting that draft together, but also everything else that goes along with being a GM in the NFL today," Rooney said last week when announcing Colbert will step down following this year's draft when his contract runs out. 

"Having said that, we’re looking for somebody that fits with the way we’re structured and our culture. We’re not really planning on changing our own structure here. It would have to be somebody we feel can fit that culture and that role.

The Steelers also still have to made additions to Tomlin's coaching staff, including finding a replacement for defensive coordinator Keith Butler, who retired at the end of the 2021 season.

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