Dan M. Rooney
Daniel Milton Rooney was an American professional football executive and diplomat best known for his association with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League, and son of the Steelers' founder, Art Rooney. He held various roles within the organization, most notably as president, owner and chairman.
Rooney implemented a philosophy and management style that emphasized open, practical and efficient management. The Steelers were very successful during his tenure, winning 15 division championships, eight AFC Championships, and an NFL record six Super Bowl Championships. In 2000, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his contributions to the game. He was also credited with spearheading a requirement that NFL teams with head coach and general manager vacancies interview at least one minority candidate, which has become known as the "Rooney Rule".
Outside of football, Rooney served as the United States Ambassador to Ireland, from July 2009 until his resignation in December 2012. He was also co-founder of the Ireland-related fundraising organization The Ireland Funds.
Early life and college
Daniel Milton Rooney was born in Pittsburgh, the son of Kathleen and Pittsburgh Steelers' owner Art Rooney. In the Steelers organization, Rooney was involved in many aspects of the franchise from the time he was a young boy, often assisting his father at Pitt Stadium and Forbes Field. He grew up in the North Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh and attended North Catholic High School where he excelled as the team's quarterback. He was also the coach for the St. Peter's Elementary school football team, which was quarterbacked by future CIA Director and lifelong friend Michael Hayden. Rooney was mentored by Fran Fogerty, Joe Carr and Ed Kiely. These men assisted in teaching him the business of football.Rooney attended Duquesne University, majoring in accounting. During his time at Duquesne, he was briefly a classmate of future Steelers head coach Bill Cowher's father, Laird Cowher. Rooney graduated with a degree in accounting in 1954.
Executive career
In 1960, Rooney originally worked as director of personnel for the Steelers. In 1969, Rooney was appointed by his father to be the team's general manager, succeeding Francis Fogarty, who retired following the 1968 season. Rooney's first season as general manager saw him select Joe Greene third overall, who later became a staple of the team's Steel Curtain defense throughout their 1970's dynasty teams. After a poor outing in 1969 with a 1–13 record, Rooney stepped down from the general manager position, instead hiring Dick Haley. Hiring Haley proved fruitful for the team as he acquired the 1974 draft class which featured four future Hall of Fame players.By early 1969, Rooney was managing the day-to-day operations of the team and personally selected the coaching hire of Chuck Noll. Rooney was appointed team president in 1975 and was officially given full operational control of the franchise. His father remained chairman and President Emeritus, as well as the public face of the franchise, until his death in 1988. Rooney oversaw all six championship teams for the Steelers between Super Bowl IX and Super Bowl XLIII and played a role in hiring all three of the Steelers' head coaches in 1969, 1992 and 2007.
Rooney generally avoided the spotlight, but he was a very active owner behind the scenes. Rooney helped lead the negotiations of the collective bargaining agreement of 1982, and is largely credited both by owners and players for ending a strike that lasted half of the season. He was also one of the main architects of the salary cap, which was implemented in 1993. Rooney became the patriarch and controlling owner of the team, following the death of his father. In 2003, Rooney followed in his father's footsteps by slowly ceding day-to-day operations of the franchise to the next generation of the family. While Rooney was still chairman, and to many fans, the public face of the team, his son Art Rooney II assumed full operational control of the Steelers.
In 1995, Rooney tried to stop the Steelers' biggest rival, the Cleveland Browns, from moving to Baltimore. He and Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson were the only owners to vote against the move and he was a driving force in ensuring the Browns return to Cleveland in 1999.
The Steelers' selection of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the 2004 NFL draft is often credited to Rooney. According to Bill Cowher, Cowher originally wanted to select offensive lineman Shawn Andrews with the 11th overall pick as he was "comfortable" with incumbent quarterbacks Tommy Maddox and Charlie Batch. Rooney made the final call on the pick, not wanting to miss out on another opportunity draft a franchise quarterback after the team passed on Dan Marino in 1983. Roethlisberger's selection ended a quarterback drought for the franchise that persisted since Terry Bradshaw's retirement in 1983 and led to three Super Bowl appearances between 2005 and 2010.
Rooney was considered to be patient with the team. In 1969, head coach Chuck Noll led the team to a record of 1–13, the worst in franchise history. Rooney chose to retain Noll for the 1970 season and gave him a slight raise for his efforts during the season. Rooney never waned on his faith in Noll, retaining him despite several poor seasons near the end of his tenure and allowed him to retire in 1991 rather than firing him. Throughout the 1998 and 1999 seasons, Rooney retained Bill Cowher as the team's head coach despite recording a combined record of 13–19 with two consecutive losing seasons. Rooney dismissed the notion of firing Cowher in February 2000 amidst rumors he would not return in 2000 stating "We all recognize that we have a lot of hard work to do in the months ahead, and I am concerned that ongoing speculation about these meetings could get in the way of what we are trying to accomplish." Cowher would later lead his team to two consecutive AFC Championship appearances in 2004 and 2005, winning Super Bowl XL following the latter.
Though Rooney never officially retired from his position, his involvement waned into the 2010's. Following the team's Super Bowl XLV defeat, much of the Rooneys' operations were handled by Dan's son Art Rooney II. In Rooney's final season with the team, the Steelers finished with an 11–5 record and claimed the AFC North title for the second time in three years. The team led a playoff run, ending with a 36–17 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship.
Sale of the Steelers
On July 7, 2008, Rooney and his son, team president Art Rooney II, announced that they were seeking to buy out his brothers' shares in the team. The team initially said that some of Rooney's four brothers want to "get out of the NFL and focus their business efforts on their racetracks and other interests." The Wall Street Journal reported that the Steelers had "been secretly shopped to potential buyers amid continuing divisions among the five sons of the team's founder, Art Rooney Sr." This forced the Steelers to announce that prolonged, ongoing negotiations were under way concerning the "restructuring" of ownership, which could have resulted in the sale of the franchise or a consolidation of control within the Rooney family. Discussions had supposedly been taking place for the last two years. The use of the phrase "ensure compliance with NFL ownership policies" referred to the family's gambling operation. At the time of publication, they owned Yonkers Raceway, a harness racing track outside of New York City, and Palm Beach Kennel Club, a greyhound racetrack in West Palm Beach. The New York racetrack had been owned by the family since 1972, and the Florida racetrack had been owned since 1970. The team said "these facilities have added forms of gaming that are inconsistent with NFL gambling policy.", relating to the then-recent installation of slot machines. According to league policy, no NFL owner may own, directly or indirectly, any interests in a gambling casino. The NFL defines any facility with slot machines as a casino.File:DanRooney.jpg|235px|thumb|Rooney, with President George W. Bush in June 2006 after winning Super Bowl XL
The Steelers' statement said that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell asked former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue to "serve as a league representative in discussions with the family in order to reach an agreement on the separation of the gambling interests and on a restructuring of ownership if the team is sold." Any sale involving an NFL team is subject to a league review and must be approved by 75% of member clubs. The Steelers were valued at $929 million by Forbes magazine in September 2007. However, Rooney's brothers: Art Jr., Tim, Patrick and John released a statement confirming that they retained Goldman, Sachs & Co. to put a price tag on the franchise, and analysts in New York placed its value between $800 million and $1.2 billion. Their shares were likely worth more than Dan and Art II had offered in the initial buyout, and it could have raised even higher and still remain under the NFL's ceiling of $150 million in ownership debt. Each Rooney brothers' stake was worth about $160 million, or less than Dan was believed to be offering. Art Jr. was the brother who might have determined if the majority of the team remains in the Rooney family. He was formerly a Pro Football Hall of Fame nominee for his drafting skills, and was fired by Dan in 1987. The brothers likely would not have retained Goldman Sachs if they felt they could soon work out a deal with Dan. The move also reflected their fears that selling to Dan, coupled with the ensuing taxes, could leave their children and grandchildren with far less money than their shares are worth. There was also concern if any of the brothers were to die without a change in ownership, their heirs would face estate taxes of up to 45% of the shares' value. Rooney worked with Morgan Stanley and PNC Financial Services to attempt to bring in additional investors who might prop up his buyout attempt.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Duquesne Capital Management chairman Stanley Druckenmiller was apparently interested in acquiring the team. On July 8, The Associated Press reported that a deal could be reached within days to sell a majority interest in the Steelers to Druckenmiller, taking control of the franchise away from the Rooney family. However Rooney, stopped short of guaranteeing that he and his son, would be able to stay at the helm of a team. He hinted that "many people," not just Druckenmiller, might be interested in the NFL franchise. Later, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello stated that the NFL would continue to support the Rooneys in their efforts to retain control of the Steelers, and maintained the franchise would not relocate to another city, only that the ownership will either change or be consolidated.
On November 21, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Tim and Pat planned to sell each of their 16% stakes in the Steelers, so they could remain involved in racetracks and casinos in Yonkers and West Palm Beach. John and Art Jr. each planned to keep a little less than half of their 16% stake, and Dan and Art II, were trying to acquire 30% of the team to abide by NFL policy and compiled a list of investors who, in essence, would become their new partners in the franchise.