Pittsburgh Steelers Owner Dan Rooney Leaves Football for Politics

After being the first team in NFL history to win six Super Bowls, players Big Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes go to Disney World and team owner Dan Rooney goes to Ireland. Wait? Ireland? Forever? How will Dan visit the Steeler locker room and motivate players from Ireland? How will he huddle up with Coach Mike Tomlin to discuss plays, past, present and future, and pat him on the back for a job well done? How will he inspire the new guys and be there for the pros to point out and say "there's our man" if he's living in Ireland? Well, the bad news for the Steelers is that he won't be in Pittsburgh to do these things as he's moving on and placing the running of the team into his son Art's hands.

On March 17th, President Barack Obama announced his decision to appoint Rooney as the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland. Rooney, 76, who has been a life-long republican, worked hard to campaign for Obama in the election. And although some think that this is the reason why he was appointed, Obama made a great choice. Dan Rooney is a hardworking, unassuming guy who stands by his decisions. Whether it was an unpopular decision that turned out to be a really good one (anyone see what Plaxico Burress is doing these days) or one that ended up being linear like Porter versus Harrison, his decisions are solid. People also like being around him. The Pittsburgh Steelers have only had three head coaches since '69. That's pretty amazing and a testament to the Rooney family.

Besides his own football team, Dan worked hard for the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame where he presided as Chairman. He'll be stepping down from that role as well. Rooney will undoubtedly be remembered as the creator of the Rooney Rule which states that coaches will interview minority candidates for coaching roles.

Yep, Dan Rooney gave his all to his team and to the NFL but that chapter's history and he's moving on. It's a done deal and Steeler players and fans alike will now say goodbye to the guy who lived ten minutes from Heinz Field, walked to work every day, and always looked out for the fans. Upon nominating Rooney for the post, President Obama said that Dan is an "unwavering supporter of Irish peace, culture and education" and that is undoubtedly true. But he is also a Pittsburgh institution and Ireland's gain will be Pittsburgh's loss.

Source used for this article: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=abTJ4J6JlKGg&refer=us