Dan Rooney
Dan Rooney
Daniel Milton "Dan" Rooneyis the former United States Ambassador to Ireland, who served from July 3, 2009 until his resignation in 2012. He is chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team in the National Football League, which was founded by his father, Art. Rooney was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000 for his contributions to the game. He is credited with spearheading a requirement that NFL teams with head coach and general manager vacancies interview at...
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth20 July 1932
CityPittsburgh, PA
I think he can definitely be as good as Bradshaw. I do think he can be.
I think he can definitely be as good as Bradshaw. He's going to keep improving, keep getting better. Bradshaw was the same way.
I thought it was a good idea, but I wasn't sure how it would be received. That's why it's only on one side of the helmet. Then we took it from there, and we had everybody asking questions and I said, 'Let's keep it that way. It's really a novelty.
It starts before the draft. We interview them, and we talk to them about it. We want players who are a good fit for our locker room. And having smart players, that's an important phase of it.
It's a tough, expensive agreement. But I think we'll be fine. We'll have to watch our expenses and things like that, and be fiscally responsible. But it's a great thing. This gives us labor peace for a while, which is what separated the National Football League from other sports. It's good for the players, and I think it will be good for the league.
When it went to the one year, I did think it had a good chance to pass. I thought it might make it.
We basically had the same core team through that period. But that was a really good Raiders team we lost to, and without Franco it was just too tough.
This is real good for the game. I always said it in the '70s: What we need as a league is one good, dominant team, and then let everybody else fight it out.
He described how the owners and players should be in this together for the good of the league.
If you have good people, why change? If you keep making changes all the time, you're like an expansion team, always starting over. Stability is everything. I believe if you get the right person, he's going to come through.
I knew it was a good one, a good symbol and said what we were. It said steel. It's still good.
The complaining about Bill was not in Pittsburgh. The fans know it's not our style to be impulsive. This is a tough league, which makes good coaching very meaningful. In a time of parity, when things can happen fast, that's vital.
Ernie's physical and relentless style of play helped the Steelers earn a reputation for being one of the NFL's toughest teams in the 1950s. He was undersized for his position, but his strength and power were among his greatest assets.
People try to compare this to a normal business. It isn't.