Dan Rooney (39 page)

Charlie ended up playing in eight games this season as injuries continued to plague Big Ben. Just when he seemed to be regaining confidence, he suffered a concussion in the Atlanta game. Following a loss to the Raiders, the season was pretty much sunk. We ended up with an 8-8 record and missed the playoffs.

All season there had been speculation that Bill Cowher would not return as the Steelers' head coach. This proved to be true. I had talked to Bill and knew he needed a break from coaching. He had achieved his life's ambition with the Steelers. He had a great winning record, 161-99-1, over fifteen seasons, been named Coach of the Year twice by
Sporting News,
and had won Super Bowl XL. He had reached a point in his life where he wanted to spend more time with his family. He and Kaye purchased a house in Raleigh, North Carolina, where their youngest daughter, Lindsey, enrolled in a high school with a good basketball program. Though I was disappointed to see Bill leave, I understood his reasons and wished him and his family only the very best.

 

 

The rules for hiring a head coach had changed since we were last in the market. The main thing that was different was the “Rooney Rule,” adopted by the league in 2002. I was chairman of the league's diversity committee at the time a report came out called “Black Coaches in the National Football League: Superior Performances, Inferior Opportunities.” Attorneys Johnnie Cochran and Cyrus Mehri called attention to the NFL's poor record in the area of minority hiring. They noted that since 1989 only five African-American head coaches had been hired. We suggested that the league require all head coach searches to include at least one minority candidate; that is, you had to at least give an interview opportunity to a minority. This may not seem like a big deal, but since the league adopted this rule, several NFL franchises have hired African-American head coaches. This year both Super Bowl coaches, Tony Dungy of the Colts and the Bears' Lovie Smith, were African American. I know the league takes the rule seriously, and so do I. When the time came for the Steelers to find a new coach, we actively sought minority candidates.

The media figured we would hire an insider, that we had already made up our mind before we began the search process. But that wasn't true. After a series of personal interviews, both inside and outside the organization, we made the decision to hire Mike Tomlin, a thirty-five-year-old African American who had done a terrific job as the Viking's defensive coordinator. Before going to Minnesota, he helped build Tampa Bay's defense into one of the five best in the league. Mike really impressed us in the interview. He was a family man, knew his history, and loved the Steelers tradition. I could tell he was a good person, and he handled our questions with poise and confidence. On January 22, 2007, Mike Tomlin became the sixteenth coach in Steelers history.

 

 

I've been fortunate to spend my entire life in professional football. In November 2004, I expressed this in an op-ed piece I wrote for the
New York Times.
I said that I've seen the NFL grow from a struggling operation to its current position of extraordinary popularity. More than a hundred million people watch NFL games every weekend. The league and its teams are admired across America—from Pittsburgh to Seattle—for the quality of our competition and for the charitable and community work performed by our players, coaches, and the larger family of NFL employees.

But this popularity and respect have a downside. There are so many people who want to take advantage of our huge television audience—advertisers, the networks, even individuals within the league itself. That was the case recently when ABC used
Monday Night Football
to promote one of its prime-time soap operas. The promotional video that ABC broadcast at the opening of the game generated an incredibly strong reaction. In the commercial, a star of one of ABC's programs emerged from a locker-room shower, took off her towel and
jumped into a player's arms. At the Steelers offices, as well as those of other NFL teams, we were flooded with phone calls and email messages protesting the salacious content. Many of those fans said they were watching with their children and did not expect to see such material, especially on a football game broadcast.

The league headquarters acknowledged that the fans that contacted us were correct. ABC made an error in judgment. The opening was out of place and should not have been part of the broadcast.

I thought it was disgraceful. What seemed most harmful to me was the fact that the NFL player holding the woman claimed, “The team's going to have to win without me.” That is not NFL football. The Steelers and the thirty-one other ball clubs that make up the league constitute a team. We play as a team. This promotion simply did not reflect the spirit of the NFL that I've known and been a part of my whole life.

This incident also led to a discussion on a wide range of issues. What does the NFL represent? I believe the NFL represents the game itself. Football is America's sports passion, and the NFL brings families and communities together in a special way. Pittsburgh is feeling great about itself right now—Rand McNally named Pittsburgh America's most livable city in 2007—and the Steelers recently won Super Bowl XL. Our young quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is the toast of the town. The strong character and integrity of our players today are as strong and positive as they were when the Super Steelers of the 1970s won four Super Bowls. The NFL today has a tremendous group of young men representing our teams on and off the field.

Our game represents special values: tough but fair competition on a level playing field, teamwork, an extraordinary work ethic, and advancement based on merit. We represent achievement and excellence based on performance.

Though NFL football is the highest level of America's favorite sport, the roots of the game grow deep in Western Pennsylvania and
thousands of other regions across the country. Its values are nourished in urban, suburban, and rural communities; in thousands of football teams, leagues, and organizations; and with millions of coaches, youthful players, and parents.

Going forward, we have to stay true to what we are—the game of football—and not succumb to the pressure of outsiders to be something else. We also need to hold ourselves accountable and speak out when we see another team, player, or official do or say anything that could harm the league's standing with our fans. Our ultimate goal has always been, and will continue to be, to ensure that the NFL is respected throughout America and viewed as an organization that positively influences millions of Americans of all ages and walks of life.

FORWARD PAST

IT'S TIME TO LOOK TO THE FUTURE. Will these goals stand the test of time?

The Steelers' mission statement: “The mission of the Pittsburgh Steelers Football Club is to represent Pittsburgh in the National Football League, primarily by winning the Championship of Professional Football. The Club should conduct a first-class, profitable operation, as a valuable member of the community.”

The Steelers are an integral part of the community. Our success becomes Pittsburgh's success. The Steelers are both an avenue of entertainment and a source of pride. Once a team commits to its community, the community commits to its team. There's something special about Steelers fans: they feel a part of something bigger than themselves—the Steelers Nation. From the time they are old enough to hold a football, their love and knowledge of the game grows.

The year 2007 marks the 75th anniversary season of the Pittsburgh Steelers and my 75th birthday. We have planned quite a celebration for the Steelers 75th season, including throwback uniforms, an exhibit from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and even a historical marker commemorating the site of Three Rivers Stadium. The fans selected the All-Time Steelers Team, just as we had done in 1982 for our 50th anniversary. A “Legends Team,” selected by a panel of experts, honored the top Steelers who played prior to 1970. It's altogether fitting that Joe Greene, one of the greatest Steelers ever, served as the Honorary Captain for the 75th season. How appropriate that Joe's jersey, number 75, coincides with this anniversary.

It's also fitting that our 75th anniversary coincides with Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary. Pittsburghers are a proud people, and while we celebrate the Steelers' past, we also recognize Pittsburgh's contributions to the world—pro football, labor unions, suspension bridges, the jeep, the polio vaccine, and many more world-changing firsts.

As we look back, it's also time to look forward. Pete Rozelle really pushed the league into the television era. Instead of each team pursuing its own individual television deal, Pete consolidated our interests and negotiated as a league with the networks. And maybe even more important than that, before Pete ever began talking with the networks, he pushed the owners into agreeing to split the revenue from television evenly among all the teams. This single policy did more to build the NFL than anything that had come before. It gave all teams an opportunity to be competitive. It's the reason why NFL franchises in places such as Green Bay, Cincinnati, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh could compete with the big market cities of New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago.

Paul Tagliabue followed Rozelle and brought labor peace to the NFL. He maintained that peace through a series of extensions to the original collective bargaining agreement and established a good
working relationship with the NFLPA. This labor peace maintained public confidence in the NFL at a time when each of the other professional sports leagues endured a work stoppage. This confidence allowed seventeen teams to build new stadiums, which in turn provided a boon in comfort and entertainment for the fans, while opening opportunities for clubs to increase revenues.

During Tagliabue's term, the league expanded to thirty-two teams—the perfect number because it allows for four divisions of four teams in both the NFC and AFC, with one team from each playing in the Super Bowl. Paul also nurtured the media and marketing opportunities that came with the explosion of the Internet and cable television. The NFL Network contributed to an increase in the league's fan base and sponsorships.

Now it's Roger Goodell's turn. As his first initiative, he took on the task of disciplining players and employees who break the law or are involved in conduct that can damage the league. It's a big job, and a complicated one sometimes, but Roger is committed to making it work.

Roger faces many challenges. The current CBA between the league and the NFLPA is based on sharing revenue, split not only among the clubs but with the players as well. But since 1993, when it first took effect, there's been a growing disparity in the amount of revenue generated by the teams in different markets. It's no longer a level playing field for Green Bay and Buffalo when compared to Washington or Dallas or New England. How will the NFL keep the clubs in the bigger markets with the larger revenue streams on the same competitive field with teams in the smaller markets? And what will be the influence of the CBA? What happens if it is not extended? Can Goodell keep all teams competitive while continuing to maximize revenue? And then, who gets what?

I'm confident Roger Goodell is equal to the challenge. He is capable, intuitive, mentally tough, and at the same time, he possesses vision.
Based on his actions thus far, I think it's clear Roger will continue to find ways to handle everything that comes across his desk—from going before Congress to testify about steroids and the league's drug policy; to continuing to meet with players to discuss discipline, pensions, and health plans while bringing together an alliance of those who can help with these important issues; to strengthening the working relationships with Gene Upshaw and the NFLPA.

Roger can do it, but it will not be easy. One of the league's challenges at this time is that most team owners have been, or still are, very successful in other businesses. An “I want what I want
now
” attitude just won't work if the league is to grow and flourish.

NFL owners must understand that WE ARE PARTNERS.

And this partnership does not only pertain to the business of the league; it's a partnership to protect the game and nurture its relationship with the fans. Pat Kirwan, of
NFL.com
, captured that relationship in this August 3, 2006, report from Latrobe:

“With fourteen thousand fans filling a high school stadium last night, the Steelers showed up in four yellow school buses for a live intrasquad practice and goal-line scrimmage.

“As I stood in the bleachers and watched the buses pull up next to an old steel mill and the players get off with their shoulder pads in hand, I got goose bumps. I was living a dream. For one night, Mr. Rooney . . . turned back the hands of time for me and the Steelers fans. I was allowed to take a peek at how it used to be—and it was awesome.

“It looked like the origins of pro football, a steel town playing another steel town at the local stadium. As the players mingled with their fans, signed autographs and took pictures, Mr. Rooney presented one of the game balls from the Super Bowl to the mayor of the town. In that moment, I finally understood why the Steelers are just different from most teams. There's no way the Steelers players could let these people down, and there's no way the fans could ever turn on the team when times get tough.

“There was a four-year-old boy sitting behind me with his mother, and he turned to her in his Jerome Bettis jersey and told her, ‘I'm glad to see coach letting Santonio Holmes catch some punts.' He's too young to understand that much football. At least, I thought a child that young didn't get the game yet, but he and his mom were there to watch some ball. The Steelers fans love football!”

Now we are embarked on a new era in franchise history. Art is the president and will be the driving force behind the Steelers of the twenty-first century. His brother Dan can help Art the way Art Jr. helped me. We have a new coach—Mike Tomlin—who's taking us in new directions but at the same time is showing that he understands the way the Steelers do business. Mike and his wife Kiya are raising three energetic children and are quickly becoming Pittsburgers.