Pittsburgh Says Goodbye to a Legend – Celebrating the Life of Dan Rooney It is said that an individual through sheer vision and fixity of purpose can change the course of history. There are quite a few examples of these people throughout history and Dan Rooney is one. He transformed the Pittsburgh Steelers Football Organization and made game changing contributions to the National Football League (NFL). Dan Rooney was born into a football family. His dad, Art Rooney was the founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He did not take this privilege for granted and learned the business of football administration by spending time watching his dad at Pitt Stadium and Forbes Field. However, it was while he was in college at Duquesne University under the mentorship of Fran Fogerty, Joe Carr and Ed Kiely that he decided that football administration was his life’s calling. His legendary journey began after graduation. Rooney became president of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1975 and held the post for twenty-eight (28) years before ceding operational control to his son Art Rooney II. During his tenure as President, the club won the AFC Central Division Championship 14 times, they also won the AFC Championship 5 times and the Super Bowl 4 times. This unprecedented success of the Steelers was in a large part due to Rooney’s excellent people management skills, his visionary thinking and practical approach to the game. His approach and management style resulted in his team and coaching staff feeling a sense of stability which resulted in confidence on the field and ultimately success in football games. He strongly believed that stability in coaching was critical in ensuring consistent team performance - the Steelers had only two coaches between 1975 and 2003. Dan Rooney will be remembered for his involvement in two critical pieces of legislation that changed the trajectory of football forever. In 1993, he spear-headed the implementation of the salary cap system in the National Football League(NFL). This system resulted in parity among teams and a more competitive league since each team had to spend a similar amount of money on players regardless of their financial resources
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This piece of legislation helped to secure the future of the NFL by ensuring that all matches are competitive and that no team with superior financial resources dominated the NFL. If this system was not in place, some teams might have been severely weaker than others and the NFL might have become more predictable and less exciting. Dan Rooney was also instrumental in legislation that requires NFL teams to interview at least one minority candidate for the roles of coach or general manager. This was a very bold move in a very conservative league and again spoke to Rooney’s visionary leadership. He knew that the league would only grow if it is inclusive, open to change and fair by ensuring that the best people are selected for available jobs. Rooney selected an African American coach Mike Tomlin in 2007 and has stuck with Tomlin through the good and bad times. This illustrates his commitment to fairness and equal opportunity for everyone in football. Dan Rooney dedicated his life to football and achieved remarkable success for his team and the NFL. He was deservedly inducted in the Pro Football Hall of fame in 2000. He will be remembered as a visionary and for changing the game of football in a fundamental way. Transformational figures like Dan Rooney are very rare and it will be extremely difficult for someone to eclipse the contribution that he has made to football. His legacy will live on in the annals of football history. Rest in Peace Legend!