The Rooneys have a clear reputation around the NFL. Old-school. Family values. And a traditionally hands-off approach. Coaches coach, players play, and the Pittsburgh Steelers will never be a team to make a quick change, keep up with the Joneses (literally, like Dallas’ Jerry Jones), and succumb to media and fan pressure. They’re known as a family that doesn’t mettle.
Much of that is true. But they still take pride in winning. In upholding the standard. Competing for and winning Lombardi trophies. When it’s clear that wasn’t the course the Steelers were set for, they’d step in. That’s how former Steelers’ head coach Bill Cowher framed things during a Thursday conversation with Rich Eisen. Cowher was asked about working for the Rooney family, especially when times were, let’s say un-Steeler-like.
“They’re chill when you win. When you lose, you have those uncomfortable conversations,” he said. “I had many of those with Mr. Rooney.”
Of course, Cowher has always spoken highly of the Rooney family with Pittsburgh roots just like his own, a kid born and raised in Crafton, Pa. Even when times got bad, even when there was pressure to move on from Cowher, the Rooneys stuck with him. It’s why they’ve had only three head coaches since the Nixon Administration with continuity almost unheard of in the sports world or frankly, any business model.
But when the team fell short of expectations, the Rooneys would talk. They wouldn’t demand change. Instead, they’d ask what would change.
“It’s one of those things of, ‘What kind of changes do you plan on making?'” Cowher said of the conversation. “‘Well, what kind of changes do you think you want to see?'”
He said it with a laugh in that coach’s way of “I want to you to be happy with the answer so I’m going to try to make you go first.” Not a disparaging remark against ownership, obviously, but typical toeing of the line to keep the people who signed his paychecks happy. While Cowher doesn’t mention a specific person, he obviously dealt with Dan Rooney more than Art Rooney II, named team president in 2003.
When warranted, Cowher made changes. When the Steelers’ special teams fell apart in 2001, capped by a miserable performance in the AFC Championship Game loss to the New England Patriots, STs Coordinator Jay Hayes was quickly fired and replaced by Kevin Spencer. Sometimes, ownership stepped in. During a power struggle between Cowher and Tom Donahoe, the organization sided with Cowher and replaced Donahoe with Kevin Colbert, who helped lead Pittsburgh to its fifth and sixth Lombardi Trophies.
While the Rooneys certainly aren’t the football firebrands seen with other ownership groups and their visibility is as low as nearly any team, they still have sway within the organization. More than probably most people believe. They set the overall direction of the team, even if they don’t pick out specific names from their hat and have an active role in how the team handles its business. Pittsburgh hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016 and if that drought continues, there might be one of those “uncomfortable conversations” about what needs fixed for 2024.
