Sunday, November 04, 2007
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Dan Rooney's book finally hit the stores this week, and it's a delight in many ways.
Just don't expect scandal.
There's nothing in the book about how he fired his brother, Art Jr., in 1986 and the squeamish problems that caused in the family.
There's barely a paragraph on why he fired Tom Donahoe as director of football operations in 2000 instead of coach Bill Cowher, although there is this gem: "Bill didn't want Donahoe in the coaches' meetings because he thought Tom was a spy. Tom thought Bill was finished as an NFL coach.''
There's also nothing about how Rooney pressured coach Chuck Noll into firing some of his coaches in 1988, including a demotion of Tony Dungy from defensive coordinator to secondary coach, a move Dungy refused and resigned instead.
All of that is left virtually untouched, and while more of Rooney's insight on the matters would have made for a juicier book, there are enough stories and memories.
There is even one revelation in which Dan Rooney admits he cheated, with the help of the NFL commissioner!
In the 1950s, the league issued a bonus draft pick every year. Once a team got the bonus, it was no longer eligible. In 1956, only the Packers, Cardinals and Steelers were still eligible.
Commissioner Bert Bell placed three pieces of paper in a hat, one of them marked "Bonus." Rooney stood right next to Bell, a former co-owner of the Steelers and one of Art Rooney's best friends, as he placed the pieces of paper in the hat. He knew which had "Bonus" written on it. Bell then called out, "Danny, you pick first."
Rooney picked the bonus piece.
"Maybe he didn't realize I was paying such close attention,'' Rooney writes, "but in any case, I wasn't about to let a gift like this pass us by. The Steelers needed all the help we could get.''
Except the Steelers were so bad back then that they could not help themselves. They made an unknown Colorado State defensive back, Gary Glick, the first player drafted. He never panned out. The guy who made that decision was the same one who cut Johnny Unitas, hard-headed coach Walt Kiesling.
Rooney's writing on Unitas and their competition as the city's best two Catholic high school quarterbacks is priceless. It includes his reaction when the all-Catholic team came out and St. Justin's Unitas was first team and North Catholic's Rooney was second.Rooney rates Unitas the best quarterback he's ever seen and Terry Bradshaw second.
He also admits to regrets that Franco Harris was released during his 1984 training camp holdout.
"I'll always regret that his career didn't end in Pittsburgh ... Looking back on it now, I wish I'd taken money out of my own pocket to seal the deal.''
He admits to making another mistake that may have cost his team Dan Marino during the 1983 draft. Noll and his scouts wanted defensive end Gabe Rivera with their first pick, the 21st of the draft, even though they also liked Marino. But they had Cliff Stoudt and Mark Malone.
John Clayton, who covered the Steelers for the Pittsburgh Press at the time, suggested to Rooney they could get Marino and Rivera. Take Marino with the first pick, Clayton suggested, and trade Stoudt for a high second-round pick. Rivera probably would still be available for them.
"I respected Clayton's opinion and thought it was a great idea,'' Rooney said. "We should have done it. But I made a mistake.''
The mistake he made was, after Noll and the scouts agreed it was a great idea, they asked how he came up with it. Rooney told them it came from Clayton, the sports writer.
"Clayton? You gotta be kidding!" Rooney quotes Noll and the scouts collectively.
"And that was the end of it,'' Rooney writes.
He makes no secret of the fact he detests fellow Pro Football Hall of Fame member Al Davis. He writes of Davis' antics several times, including one from 1977 when he believed Davis was behind Oakland defensive back George Atkinson's disruptive lawsuit against Noll.
But the best Davis story spun by Rooney occurred when the NFL merged with the AFL, and then realigned when Cleveland, Baltimore and the Steelers moved to the AFC and divisions were formed.
The negotiations were long, hard and often contentious, but after they finally agreed on alignment, Al Davis tried to challenge the AFC Central makeup of the Browns, Steelers, Bengals and Oilers. Rooney told him it was "untouchable.'' Davis shot back, "No, it isn't.''
Finally, Davis walked out of the room, where he was confronted by Vince Lombardi.
"In the hallway, Vince grabbed Al by the collar, lifted him up, and pressed him against the wall, hard. 'If you're going to cause people trouble,' he warned, 'you'll be run out of here. You're getting the best teams. Dan Rooney came a long way for this, so settle down or we'll throw you out. We don't need you!' "
Some of the book's best parts tell of the early days, as Rooney grew up with the Steelers.
He tells of an exhibition game between the Bears and the then-Pirates in Erie in 1939. The Pirates had never beaten the Bears in any game and Art Rooney sent his 6-year-old son to knock on the door to the hotel suite where George Halas was giving a pep talk to his players.
Halas opened the door and told young Dan that he was in the wrong room. "Your daddy's room is down the hall,'' Halas said.
"Mr. Halas,'' Dan replied, "I know where our room is. My old man sent me here to tell you to take it easy on our team tonight.''
Everyone in the room, including Halas, laughed, and the Pirates beat the Bears the next day, 10-9.
Rooney has a few more modern revelations as well, encouraging Bill Cowher and Kevin Colbert to draft Ben Roethlisberger in 2004 rather than an offensive lineman, and secretly meeting with Hines Ward alone at the Arnold Palmer Airport in Latrobe to help settle the receiver's 2005 training camp contract holdout.
It's a book long in coming, and the fact he left out a few juicy items still leaves room for plenty of substance.
First published on November 4, 2007 at 12:00 am
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