For Kevin Colbert, leading the Pittsburgh Steelers as Director of Football Operations and then GM from 2000 to 2022 was an honor. His hometown team, he helped bring the organization its fifth and sixth Super Bowls, breaking a drought that spanned the post-Steel Curtain into the new century. And above all, he loved working for the people inside the building. None more than the late Dan Rooney, who owned and controlled the Steelers for decades.
Appearing on the North Catholic Athletics Podcast, Colbert explained what it meant to work for “Mr. Rooney.”
“Having been with Mr. Rooney for the years, when we were together with Steelers before he passed, that gentleman lived it every day,” Colbert said. “And this is one of the greatest owners, if not the best owner of all time. And not only in professional football but in professional sports, who was two offices down for me and came in my office everyday as humble as could be.”
The Steelers remain one of the few family-owned franchises in football, joining the Bidwills in Arizona and Maras in charge of the New York Giants, each of whom who have had a close relationship with the Rooneys for nearly the last 100 years. Pittsburgh is known and praised for its stability, loyalty, and winning culture the last 50 years. There are now plenty of minority owners, but many have local ties while the Rooneys are still the faces and name that represents the team.
Dan Rooney was one of the most respected owners in sports who fought for his players more than most in his position. He supported them during strike years and was known to personally interact with the team after each game instead of just watching from afar in a luxury box. Later in life, he became the Ambassador to Ireland, the first to visit all 32 counties in the country. But for Colbert, those small moments and daily conversations are what he cherishes most.
“He’d say, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ I said, ‘Not much Mr. Rooney.’ ‘Oh, call me Dan or Ambassador.’ I said, ‘Okay, Mr. Rooney,’ you know what I mean? And so you lived it and you saw that every day. And that gentleman, if it was good enough for him, certainly it was gonna be good enough for me.”
He was loved by players, too. None more than Ike Taylor, who built a special bond with “Papa Rooney,” and has told the story of Rooney letting Taylor sleep on his office couch for hours one day.
Dan Rooney passed away on April 30, 2017. But his life continues to be celebrated as the Rooneys still run the Steelers, now with Art Rooney II in charge of overseeing the team. Colbert is cut from a similar cloth as the Rooney family. Humble, consistent, and creating the right culture.
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