The Steelers are one step closer to finding their next general manager.

Pittsburgh will have a second round of interviews for its vacant GM job, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Thursday. Titans VP of player personnel Ryan Cowden and Buccaneers VP of player personnel John Spytek are among those who are scheduled to meet with the Steelers again.

Pittsburgh is filling its vacancy now because of the planned departure of Kevin Colbert, who has been with the organization since 2000 but decided now was a good time to move on. Colbert’s time with the Steelers officially ended upon the conclusion of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Cowden and Spytek have been relevant in front-office hiring searches this year. Cowden interviewed with the Giants earlier in 2022 before they decided to proceed with Joe Schoen as their new GM, while Spytek interviewed with both the Raiders and Vikings before those two clubs chose Dave Ziegler and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, respectively, for their vacant GM jobs.

Spytek and Cowden both recently completed their sixth seasons with their current teams and are clearly on the radars of those making hiring decisions within NFL front offices. We’ll see who else from the 16 initial candidates has made it to the second round of sit-downs to became the next personnel chief in Pittsburgh.