Andy Weidl was an intern with the Pittsburgh Steelers before Kevin Colbert was hired to lead the football operations department. He returned to the organization after Colbert’s resignation as general manager in May.

Although they never worked on the same staff, Weidl has an appreciation and admiration for what Colbert accomplished in his 22 years with the Steelers — namely molding two championship teams and another that reached the Super Bowl.

Weidl hasn’t lost sight of those goals in his first few months as assistant general manager.

“We’re going to try to keep building on what Kevin did here,” Weidl said Tuesday. “He’s one of the best to ever do it. We’re going to add to the process, enhance when we can. We want to make him proud with the product we have here and the type of players we bring in. … We’ll continue to find Steelers, that’s the goal.”

A Mt. Lebanon native, Weidl left his job as vice president of player personnel with the Philadelphia Eagles to accept the newly created position on the Steelers staff. He was among a handful of applicants who received a second interview for Colbert’s position. Although Omar Khan was promoted as Colbert’s successor, Weidl quickly accepted the chance to be the second in command of the Steelers football operations staff.

“I just felt at home,” Weidl said of his chance to interview with team president Art Rooney II. “I felt like either way it was a great experience.”

In his role, Weidl will oversee the pro and college scouting departments. Given Khan’s history working on the business side of football operations, Weidl’s scouting background provides a balance.

“We are an extension of coach Tomlin and his staff,” Weidl said. “We’re going to go out and find players that fit the job description and the program that he has here. It’s important to have that alignment. When you have that, great things are possible.”

Weidl worked in the front office in Baltimore when the Ravens won the Super Bowl after the 2012 season and in Philadelphia when the Eagles won the championship in February 2018. For the past three seasons, he put together the Eagles’ draft board when they selected, among others, quarterback Jalen Hurts, wide receivers Jalen Reagor and DeVonta Smith and defensive tackle Jordan Davis, who was on the Steelers’ radar this past spring.

Weidl seeks players who are “tough-minded, strong-willed” and “resilient” while he is doing his evaluations.

“That is something you look for in the DNA of a player,” he said. “I learned that from Bill Nunn and the Steelers, and it carried me through.”

As an intern in the 1998-99 seasons, Weidl worked under Nunn and former director of player personnel Tom Donahoe. Weidl left in 2000 — the same year Colbert came aboard — to join the New Orleans Saints, and he spent that season working on the same staff as Khan, who left to join the Steelers in 2001. They have remained friends since.

“He was there the night I met my wife,” Weidl said. “I was at his wedding. He was at my wedding. He’s just a great guy, a high-character person. He’s really smart, really savvy, and I have a lot of respect and loyalty to him. You couldn’t find a better opportunity.”

In Philadelphia, Weidl embraced the analytical side to football operations, and his plan is to incorporate more trends and tendencies into his role with the Steelers.

“If it’s applied and you can find a usefulness, it’s a tool,” he said. “There is so much data and so many stats right now that you can get inundated with it. The key is to find the important things and know how to apply it to what your program is.”

Weidl wasn’t the only member of his family to join the Steelers. He brought along younger brother Casey, who also spent six seasons in Philadelphia, working most recently as scouting operations coordinator.

Weidl doesn’t think it’s coincidence that having a Pittsburgh background played a role in he and his brother joining Khan’s staff.

“That is what makes it unique here,” he said. “I think it means a little more (to you). You’re from here, you grew up here, your roots are here. You don’t want to disappoint. This is a great opportunity. For me, this organization is the gold standard of gold standards.”

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