Eric DeCosta rolled through the campus gates following a University of Maryland pro day in the early 2000s and set off on the 45-minute trek back to Baltimore. As then-Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome’s top lieutenant, DeCosta made countless scouting trips like this one to College Park. But on this particular day, as DeCosta cruised along I-95 North, he glanced into his rearview mirror and noticed something unusual.
Advertisement
He was being followed.
“I see this car speeding up behind me,” DeCosta, who was promoted to be the Ravens’ general manager in 2019, told The Athletic this week. “This guy’s driving aggressively. He’s kind of weaving in and out of traffic.”
Mile after mile, the two cars raced along the highway in tandem until, eventually, DeCosta pulled into a gas station a few miles from the team facility in Owings Mills, Md. The pursuit car screeched in behind him. Out jumped a barrel-chested man with an outstretched hand and a smile.
“‘Hey, Eric, it’s Andy Weidl,’” DeCosta remembered Weidl, who was a Saints area scout at the time, saying. “‘Listen, I just want to meet you and just introduce myself. If you guys ever have anything available in scouting, I would love to work for you.’”
Talk about a memorable first impression.
GO DEEPER
With Omar Khan tabbed as new GM, Steelers' front-office structure will likely change
For those who haven’t enjoyed the privilege of being chased down by Weidl on the highway, now is an opportune time to get acquainted. In May, new Steelers general manager Omar Khan hired Weidl — who had two interviews for the GM job that ultimately went to Khan — to serve as his assistant general manager. In doing so, the Steelers brought Weidl’s football life full circle, allowing the Mt. Lebanon, Pa., native to boomerang back to his hometown and to the same organization that gave him his start as an intern in 1998.
Assistant GM Andy Weidl talks about coming back to Pittsburgh, working with GM Omar Khan and more.
Full 🎥:
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 16, 2022
“I think it just means a little bit more,” Weidl told reporters in Latrobe during training camp. “You’re from here. You grew up here. Your roots are here. You don’t want to disappoint. I feel that way, growing up here as a Steelers fan.”
To get a sense of how Weidl will put his fingerprints on the franchise, look no further than Sunday’s Super Bowl. After 11 years in Baltimore (which we’ll get to), Weidl became a trusted voice inside the Eagles’ scouting department, helping assemble one of the best rosters the NFL has seen in years. Philadelphia faces Kansas City on Sunday, seeking its second Lombardi Trophy in six seasons.
Advertisement
In the last three seasons, in particular, Weidl took a leading role in personnel decisions, as the person responsible for setting the Eagles’ draft board. While GM Howie Roseman made the selections, Weidl ranked and rated each player. He’s expected to have a similar role this year in the Steelers’ war room.
The more you hear about Weidl, the more it becomes clear the players he prioritizes are, in many ways, a reflection of his own tough-minded personality.
“You can see the imprint of Andy’s values on the (Eagles),” Jets general manager Joe Douglas, who worked alongside Weidl in Baltimore and Philadelphia, told The Athletic. “The toughness, the instincts, the competitive nature, guys that love football. You can see that.”
Before we look ahead to how Weidl’s philosophies will shape the Steelers’ future, let’s put this car in reverse to Nov. 23, 1997.
Long before the Pittsburgh-area native earned his place in Philadelphia’s war room, those two organizations — and Weidl’s football future — converged at Veterans Stadium.
Andy’s father, George Weidl, had forged a friendship with legendary scout Tom Donahoe that dated back to their high school days at South Hills Catholic (now called Seton LaSalle) in Mt. Lebanon. The two Pittsburghers remained in touch as Donahoe climbed the ladder to become the general manager who built the Steelers into a mid-’90s Super Bowl contender.
On the field before the game against the Eagles, as Jerome Bettis warmed up with cracked ribs, Donahoe struck up a conversation with Andy, who was wrapping up his graduate degree at Villanova.
Weidl was the oldest sibling in a sports-loving household bursting at the seams with boys. (Three of the four Weidl brothers went on to work in the NFL, with Casey Weidl now on the Steelers’ staff as scouting coordinator and Kevin Weidl working with the Ravens as an area scout.)
Advertisement
Andy once skipped a high school homecoming dance to watch Mario Lemieux and the Penguins battle Wayne Gretzky’s L.A. Kings. For his bachelor party, Andy’s brothers brought three separate Sega Genesis consoles so they could face off in an NHL video game.
After starring as a tight end and linebacker at Mt. Lebanon High, Weidl bulked up to become an interior offensive lineman at Villanova. Now, with his playing days over and another diploma on the horizon, he told Donahoe he wanted to stay near the gridiron. So the Steelers’ GM brought him in for an internship, which wasn’t an easy job — by design.
“A lot of kids want an internship because they want to be around the team,” Donahoe said. “They want to tell people they work for the Steelers. They want to eat free hot dogs. It’s not the right reasons. So I used to always stress to our scouts that we have to make this seem like a job — and really a crappy job. Just teach them the good, the bad, the ugly.”
The program lasted two years. It was common for interns to drop out after one season. Other times, the Steelers would, well, politely suggest the intern go in a different direction. As a former offensive lineman who was used to doing the dirty work so someone else could celebrate in the end zone, Weidl never flinched.
“It didn’t make any difference what job we gave Andy,” Donahoe said. “He always did it and he never said, ‘Why do I have to do this? Can’t other interns do this? Is this in my job description?’ There was never any of that with Andy. Really early on, we all believed that this guy has a chance to go somewhere in scouting and personnel.”
To some, DeCosta’s roadside introduction to Weidl would have been an awkward beginning to a strained relationship. But in the competitive world of NFL scouting, DeCosta actually left that first meeting impressed.
If Weidl was willing to go full-on “Fast & Furious” just to say hello, imagine the lengths he would travel to chase down information about a possible draft target. The intensity and passion that Weidl displayed stuck with DeCosta enough that when the Ravens had an opening for a West area scout in 2005, Weidl got the gig.
Advertisement
“We brought him in, and kind of the rest was history,” DeCosta said.
Weidl had spent the first four years of his career in New Orleans, where he began to develop a friendship with Khan. In Baltimore, he joined a young, ambitious group of scouts and executives that called themselves the “20/20 Club.” The group gets its name because they joined the Ravens as 20-somethings and made $20,000 a year.
“The guys actually started when they were a little older than 20 and for more than $20,000, but that’s what we call them,” Newsome told the Ravens’ website.
So many of those young talent evaluators went on to hold prominent positions in other front offices, including DeCosta, Douglas, George Kokinis, Daniel Jeremiah, Phil Savage, Ian Cunningham and others. In a room full of hyper-driven alpha males, it was Weidl’s personality that set him apart.
“Andy’s superpower is really his ability to connect with people, relate with people and communicate with people to get that information at a school,” said Douglas, one of Weidl’s closest friends in the business.
DeCosta explains that Weidl is extremely Type A. Achievement-oriented. Competitive. Thrives in a fast-paced environment. But he also has a number of high-end Type B traits, especially the ability to make personal connections. This mixture allowed him to outwork competitors while also getting people to open up about players.
“When you call a school and you ask about players, these coaches oftentimes have a vested interest in making the guy sound really, really good,” DeCosta said. “The difference with Andy is he’s built these relationships over time. A lot of times, he’s getting information that’s more accurate than most teams.”
GO DEEPER
Andy Weidl’s way: The lessons that will guide his biggest Eagles draft yet
“Sometimes we’d have to say to him, ‘Hey, Andy, listen, you don’t have to read all that information. Just read what’s important,'” DeCosta said. “Our meetings would actually go a lot longer because Andy would have pages and pages and pages of background notes on players.”
Advertisement
That extra prep work paid off in 2006 during pre-draft meetings that everyone in Baltimore still remembers. The Ravens held the No. 12 selection and were considering a 6-foot-5, 340-pound defensive tackle from Oregon named Haloti Ngata.
“At the time, people questioned (Ngata),” Douglas remembers. “Some of the knock on Haloti was, well, he doesn’t go hard every single snap.”
As the Ravens’ West Coast scout, Weidl stood on the table for the Oregon product, pointing out all of the special teams work Ngata did that made it appear he wasn’t giving his full effort on early downs. He eventually convinced the Ravens to draft Ngata.
“A lot of people don’t dig on the ‘why’ behind some of these narratives that are said about players,” Douglas said. “Andy would dig on every single narrative that’s brought up on a player. Andy goes the extra mile. He talks to one more person. He talks to one more coach.”
You can say that Ngata pick turned out pretty well. The defensive tackle went on to become a five-time Pro Bowler, a Super Bowl champion and a member of Baltimore’s Ring of Honor.
“What I appreciated about Andy is he had a strong voice, and he wasn’t afraid to use it,” DeCosta said. “A lot of times, there’s a phenomenon: We call it disregarding a negative report. Six or seven scouts really like a guy. One guy doesn’t. But he doesn’t really make his opinions really strongly known.
“Andy never had that problem. He’s not afraid to speak up. He’s not afraid to give his opinion. He’s not afraid to be different from the rest.”
Over his time in Baltimore, Weidl’s mountain of research and Rolodex of connections paid many dividends. On several instances, Weidl got word through his web of sources that another team had taken a prospect out to dinner, or was perhaps considering trading up to snag a particular player.
Advertisement
As he moved from West area scout to the Northeast to the East, the Ravens selected several players from Weidl’s focus group, including defensive lineman Timmy Jernigan, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, receiver Torrey Smith, quarterback Tyrod Taylor and offensive lineman John Urschel. Weidl was also a strong proponent of Joe Flacco when the Ravens traded up to select the QB 18th in 2008.
Along the way, there was a certain irony unfolding. As much as the two AFC North rivals might not readily admit it, the Ravens and Steelers were mirror images of each other during that era, built on physicality, defense and toughness.
During his internship with the Steelers, Weidl learned from Donahoe and legendary scout Bill Nunn the value of hard-minded, football-loving athletes. He saw it first-hand in a young Hines Ward, Jerome Bettis, Dermontti Dawson, Joey Porter and others in Pittsburgh. In Baltimore, surrounded by similar gridiron gladiators like Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs and Ed Reed, the kid from Pittsburgh helped stockpile the Steelers’ archrival with players cut from the same cloth.
“Everything we did was to try to compete with the Steelers,” Douglas said. “You knew you had to have the right type of person to go into Heinz Field and have success. In the fourth quarter, ‘Renegade’ is playing. The towels are waving. You have to figure out, who is going to rise to the occasion and who is going to wilt under the pressure.”
In 2016, after 11 seasons in Baltimore, Weidl made the leap to Philadelphia, where he was reunited with two of his closest friends and mentors.
Donahoe, the executive who helped Weidl land his first internship with the Steelers, was now serving as a senior adviser to the Eagles. And Douglas, Weidl’s longtime Baltimore colleague, had recently been hired as Philadelphia’s vice president of player personnel. Weidl became, in a sense, Douglas’ right-hand man.
They continued to build the Eagles using a similar formula as the Ravens, one predicated upon defense, strength in the trenches and rugged competitors. But the process evolved slightly. Beyond just the physical toughness Baltimore coveted, the Eagles realized they’d need people who were mentally strong to handle a demanding fan base that infamously booed Santa Claus.
Advertisement
“Philly’s a tough town,” Douglas said. “You can’t be thin-skinned to play there, because people are going to get on you if you’re not playing well. … Is he going to be able to handle it if he drops the game-winning pass and fans are just going at him? Is he going to be able to recover?”
Over time, Weidl’s voice continued to grow with the Eagles. He eventually replaced Douglas when the latter was hired by the Jets. In that role, Weidl was responsible for building the Eagles’ draft board. The team’s decision-making during those three drafts provides a window into Weidl’s world.
Donahoe said it always starts with a quarterback. Weidl got his in the second round of the 2020 draft, when the Eagles snagged Jalen Hurts. He fit the Eagles mold in so many ways as a former powerlifter who lost his starting job at Alabama, transferred to Oklahoma and finished second behind Joe Burrow for the Heisman Trophy.
GO DEEPER
Vindication for Howie Roseman, again? How the Eagles GM built another contending team
The Eagles and Ravens have long prioritized the offensive and defensive lines. Philadelphia was already strong on both lines, but Weidl continued to pour assets into those areas. He was part of the decision to sign defensive lineman Javon Hargrave — the former Steeler who had 11 sacks this season — as a free agent. In 2021, Philadelphia added offensive lineman Landon Dickerson and defensive lineman Milton Williams in the second and third rounds. In 2022, it was defensive tackle Jordan Davis at No. 13 and offensive lineman Cam Jurgens in the second round.
Then there’s the DeVonta Smith pick in 2021, a selection that says so much about Weidl and his thinking. Some questioned the Heisman Trophy-winning receiver’s size and durability. But as a somewhat undersized offensive lineman himself, Weidl has long believed athletes come in all shapes and sizes. Perhaps utilizing Weidl’s ability to uncover information, the Eagles believed the Giants were targeting the Alabama receiver. They leapfrogged their division rival in a trade with another rival, the Cowboys, to land Smith at No. 10.
When Weidl spoke about the pick after the draft, he sounded an awful lot like the guy selling the Ravens on Ngata, pointing out Smith’s role on special teams for the Crimson Tide and his team-first mentality.
GO DEEPER
Superstar or superhero, DeVonta Smith is no stranger to the big stage
“When you talk about a teammate that would go above and beyond to help the team win, he embodied that,” Weidl said.
DeCosta admits it was “bittersweet” seeing Weidl go to the other side of the Ravens-Steelers rivalry.
Advertisement
“We have so much respect for those guys. And we’re very, very proud of Andy,” he said. “My goal would be that he gets out of there sooner than later and he gets the chance to be a GM. We’re all going to help him as much as we can just to get him out of the division.”
Now, Weidl prepares for his first draft in Pittsburgh at a critical inflection point in the franchise’s history. An organization known for stability saw its Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and long-tenured general manager Kevin Colbert depart a few months apart last year. There is both an opportunity — including three picks in the top 50 for the first time since 1989 — and a challenge to define the next chapter of the organization.
Donahoe said that even though Weidl had nothing to do with the Steelers’ selection, he was a fan of the decision to draft quarterback Kenny Pickett. That’s big. With the quarterback in place, he can now move on to many of the areas the Eagles and Ravens prioritized, like the offensive and defensive lines and the cornerback position.
While his process may continue to evolve to fit the Steelers’ needs, those who know Weidl best expect him to attack the new job with the same intensity as the guy who chased down DeCosta on the highway just to say hello.
“He and Howie Roseman did a great job of collaborating on the drafts,” Donahoe said. “I have total confidence in Andy that if the Steelers let him do his thing, they’ll have a chance to get similar results.”
(Top photo: Screenshot courtesy of the Pittsburgh Steelers)
