Dan Rooney

by Dan Rooney

  His most important achievement was probably the way he transformed our relationship with the NFL Players Association. He did it by opening a good dialogue with Gene Upshaw. I assured Gene that Tagliabue was a good person and a man who could be trusted. Paul listened carefully to all the arguments on both sides and worked relentlessly to find fair solutions. The result was uninterrupted labor peace during his tenure, which set the foundation for the incredible growth of the league.

  In 1993 Paul, Gene Upshaw, Jim Quinn, and I got together and came out with a labor deal that brought not only peace, but also a system (free agency with a salary cap) that made the league more competitive than ever. Every team had a chance to get better and compete for the Super Bowl, not like in baseball where too many teams didn’t have the money to compete. Pittsburgh Pirates fans knew every year their team had little chance to reach the World Series. Thankfully, under the NFL system, that wasn’t true for Pittsburgh Steelers fans. Our system gave us a chance to win.

  Without labor peace, Paul Tagliabue could not have accomplished all the many other achievements that marked his era. Under Tagliabue, we expanded from twenty-eight to thirty-two teams, realigned our divisions and scheduling formula, worked on our revenue-sharing system to make our incomes more even, and signed the largest television contracts in entertainment history.

  Paul found a whole new way of involving the NFL in stadium development. He emphasized public-private partnerships, resulting in twenty-four new stadiums. He made sure the NFL continued as a leader in television and new media. Bringing Fox into the NFL television business energized the way our game was presented on TV. Tagliabue also created the first sports league Internet network for fans and the first satellite television subscription service. Then he launched the NFL Network on cable and satellite television.

  What he did for the players and the game was just as important—in some ways even more important. He implemented a year-round random testing program for steroids in 1990, way ahead of other sports. He also monitored other drugs that threatened professional football. He created programs to assist players and their families in their lives off the field. All of these programs strengthened the integrity of the league—and integrity is our most important asset.

  Paul also made sure the game on the field stayed exciting, and he emphasized player safety. He challenged the Competition Committee to be active and progressive. He also took the game overseas, including the creation of the NFL Europe League, to help the game grow globally. He kept his eye on the health of the game at all levels—from improving our relations with college football, to defending in court our college eligibility rule, to creating the NFL Youth Football Fund with the players’ union to support programs for the game at the youth and high school level.

  Like Pete Rozelle, Paul was organized. He intuitively knew how things should be handled. Under Tagliabue, the committee system of working through issues flourished. He involved the owners in league business but always offered thoughtful guidance. He put together a terrific staff and professionalized the league.

  Jerry Richardson, who chaired the stadium committee, worked with Paul and Roger Goodell. Even though I was also on the stadium committee, those three guys are responsible for the building of some of our nation’s greatest stadiums. Teams received up to 50 percent of the stadium cost under the NFL’s new G3 loan program. Al Lerner, president of the Cleveland Browns, and I first instituted this program to save the Patriots for Boston. It was originally only for teams in the top-six television markets, but it ended up being used for all clubs that were building or renovating stadiums. The Steelers didn’t get money under this plan. We operated under the old system; that is, we borrowed money from the league—money we are still paying back.

  Many people talk about NFL commissioners who solved problems. Tagliabue avoided problems. He solved them before they arose—that was his brilliance.

  In March 2006 Paul called me to let me know he was going to retire. Under his contract, he could step down after the TV and labor contracts were finalized. Paul asked if I would send a letter to all the owners right before the annual March meeting and let them know he was leaving. He would explain his decision at the league meeting.

  At the meeting Paul made his formal announcement and, at the same time, he appointed a committee that Jerry Richardson and I co-chaired—Bob Kraft, Al Davis, Lamar Hunt, Woody Johnson, Jerry Jones, and Mike McCaskey. We hired an executive search firm—Korn/Ferry International, headed by Paul Reilly—to help us conduct the search for a new commissioner.

  The Korn/Ferry team interviewed league owners to get their buy-in for the process and preliminary ideas about candidates. Findings were kept confidential—no one knew which owner suggested which candidate.

  Prior to the annual spring meeting, we split into NFC and AFC groups and gave everyone an opportunity to express an opinion. The plan and the process worked well. Korn/Ferry received, reviewed, and researched almost two hundred applications, which they reduced to about twenty. Our committee screened the applicants and whittled the list down to eleven. After interviewing the remaining candidates, the committee selected a short list of six for the final round. These candidates were a mixture of NFL insiders as well as others outside the league.

  On August 7, 2006, we interviewed the five finalists at the Renaissance North Shore Hotel in Chicago—all were articulate and knowledgeable.

  Roger Goodell, however, really stood out. He knew the major issues and demonstrated a superior knowledge of the league and its workings—he had, after all, been there for twenty-five years. After only five ballots, the owners elected Roger Goodell, only the seventh commissioner since the NFL began in 1920.

  The process allowed the smoothest commissioner transition in NFL history. Jerry Richardson and I were probably the only two people in the National Football League who could have operated and worked together as co-chairmen, a sad—but true—commentary.

  Al Davis, who gave us a lot of trouble, questioned everything, argued, and criticized the process. As a result, we scrutinized everything carefully. Al Davis was being Al Davis, but in this case it worked to our advantage because we were more thorough than we might have been otherwise. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure about this committee, but I found that each member served well and contributed much to the final result.

  At his first press conference as our new commissioner, Roger mentioned three goals: the game, thirty-two strong teams, and innovation. He quickly reinforced what I had known about him all along—he is a man of his word.

  He hit the ground running, wasting little time in making good on his promise to visit every NFL team during the 2006 season. He visited thirteen teams in his first month on the job, including the Steelers. And these weren’t “preaching” visits. He came to listen. He wanted to know what we thought, what issues concerned us most—now and in the future. He also wanted to know what our players thought.

  Roger didn’t tell us he had all the answers or suggest what we needed to do. He listened and asked questions to better understand our positions. He took notes. He took it all in and went out of his way to allow each club an equal voice.

  Roger made it clear he would have no tolerance for anything that damaged the integrity of the NFL. There’s not an owner in any sport who doesn’t like to hear that from his commissioner. You want a strong leader, one who will be tough but fair with players, coaches, administrators—even owners—who run afoul of NFL rules.

  That sounds pretty good on paper until you become the object of the commissioner’s ire, which I did just a few weeks after Roger took office. He hit me hard when I criticized the officials after our game against the Falcons on October 22, 2006.

  We were called for a false start on the last play of the game when we were just spiking the ball to kill the clock. The penalty also required that ten seconds be run off the clock. And since just seconds remained to be played, the referee signaled the game over. We lost, 41-38. I hate losing but more than that, I just thought it was
a horrible way to end a game. Bad for the fans. Bad for the players. Bad for everyone.

  I didn’t agree with the call and voiced my displeasure publicly. The commissioner fined me. This was important for Roger to do. Even if I still disagree with the official’s call, I agree that Roger did the right thing by fining me for speaking out. This strong leadership established a precedent that no owner was above the league rules.

  I was the first owner to be fined by the new commissioner but certainly not the only person to be disciplined. Roger dealt with several player issues—both on the field and off—and when a few coaches followed my lead and criticized game officials, he handled those as well. In all cases he acted swiftly, but always in the best interests of the league and the game.

  We’ve spent our fair share of time before Congress over the years, testifying on a variety of matters. Most of our attorneys say it’s the price of being the most popular sport in America. This year alone, we’ve dealt with cases ranging from steroid and drug policies to plans for the NFL Network. I’m not going to recount the meetings and hearings on the “Hill,” but what impressed me was the commissioner’s drive to get out ahead of the issues.

  And overall that’s the way he operates. He heads off issues by picking up the phone and calling people, or if it makes more sense, meeting face to face. The most important thing is to meet an issue head on.

  When we met in Pittsburgh, Roger talked about creating greater transparency between the league office and the clubs. His visits to each team helped move us all in that direction, but I think our October 2006 league meeting brought his idea of open communication into sharp focus. He handled that first meeting brilliantly.

  When we next met, we all were very familiar with the issues. Revenue sharing and funding for a joint stadium for the Giants and Jets dominated most of the day-and-a-half meeting. What stood out was the ease with which Roger presided over the meeting, opening up with some brief remarks and moving right into reports and updates on the season. Moreover, he let us—the owners—talk. He said very little but took notes and asked questions. He spoke only to clarify issues or summarize discussions.

  One topic, which played out the entire season, was just how good a season we were having. Attendance was up throughout the league. Blackout lifts—a technical term used to describe when games are televised in their local markets—were running at unprecedented levels. We finished the season with record attendance, and what’s more, we kept our partners happy. That was true particularly in television where for the first time I can ever remember, each of our broadcast partners showed an increase in ratings from the previous year. It’s really quite amazing considering this was the first year of the new contracts with our broadcast partners—CBS, ESPN, Fox, and NBC.

  Roger played an important role in the negotiations that resulted in the current deals. He played an even larger role in the creation of the NFL Network, which televised a package of eight games this season, another first. I think the round-the-clock NFL programming on our own network did help drive our partners’ ratings.

  The Super Bowl caps off the NFL season, but it’s also a time when the commissioner undergoes media scrutiny. This is especially true of first-time commissioners.

  The commissioner’s annual press conference, traditionally held the Friday morning of Super Bowl week, is really something to see. Media from around the world—seven hundred strong—come to ask the commissioner questions about every conceivable topic related to the game.

  The point is, this is a big deal. The event is televised live on ESPN and the NFL Network and there’s a lot of pressure. Roger did an excellent job. You could tell he was well prepared—he did his homework. He answered more than twenty-five questions during the forty-five-minute event and even looked as though he enjoyed the give-and-take with reporters.

  I am confident Roger Goodell will be an excellent commissioner. Every commissioner since Jim Thorpe brought something of value to the league. Each had their own special talent, but the one thing they all possessed was integrity and a love for the game. They committed themselves to the NFL. Roger Goodell possesses that same commitment. We have been blessed with strong, qualified, and honest men to lead us as we pursue America’s game.

  Coming off of our Super Bowl XL victory we were riding high, expecting a great follow-up season. But the Steelers’ fortunes turned in 2006. In June, Ben Roethlisberger crashed his motorcycle on a busy Pittsburgh street. I was in Ireland when I heard the news. I immediately called the hospital and talked to Ben’s mother and father. I offered the Steelers’ full support. Though he recovered quickly from this accident, in September he was rushed to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. Charlie Batch filled in at quarterback for the season opener against Miami here at Heinz Field. Charlie threw three touchdown passes to beat the Dolphins, 28-17.

  Let me say something about Charlie Batch. Not only is he a talented quarterback, but he really understands the game and Pittsburgh football. And why wouldn’t he? He was born in Homestead, just up the river from Pittsburgh, and attended Steel Valley High School, where he lettered in football and basketball. The great thing about Charlie is that he’s not just a football player but really cares about this community. He established the Best of the Batch Foundation to assist local youth and hosts Project C.H.U.C.K., an annual youth basketball league in Homestead. I can vouch for the fact that Charlie loves kids. He’s been a great help in mentoring my grandson Danny in his development as a first-rate high school quarterback.

  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.