Former Pittsburgh Steelers CB Ike Taylor has talked about his bond with the late Dan Rooney numerous times. The former owner of the franchise, Rooney grew very close to Taylor, and they had a unique relationship. That bond extended to the whole of the Rooney family, and it truly left a lasting impact on Taylor’s life. Something he said recently illustrates just how deep that runs.
“Papa [Dan] Rooney just took a liking to old Ike Taylor. He really did, a genuine, ‘This is my son’ kind of liking. ‘Not only is he part of this franchise and this organization, he is a Rooney’. And I took that to heart, and I ran with it”, Taylor said on the Bleav in Steelers podcast.
“I treat the Rooneys as my family”, Taylor added. “That’s just how it is. I was talking to one of the scouts, Dan Rooney, ‘I’m really considering hyphenating my name into Rooney-Taylor. Whatchu think?’. He was like, ‘Alright’. I said, ‘Nah, I’m serious about this’. He was like, ‘I know!’. He said, ‘You know we look at you as family. You’re one of my brothers’. I said, ‘Alright then, say less’”.
The late Dan Rooney was the son of Art Rooney Sr., “The Chief”, who founded the Steelers 91 years ago. Dan took over around the late 60s and helped spearhead a renaissance, turning them into a dynasty. He remained the owner by the time they drafted Ike Taylor in 2003, and not long after he was sleeping on the couch in Rooney’s office. Some years later, Taylor served as a pallbearer at Rooney’s funeral.
Unfortunately, Taylor doesn’t make it clear when he had this conversation with the Rooney in question. He is presumably referring to Dan Rooney Jr., most likely, who is the vice president of player personnel and is very active in the scouting process as well.
Dan Rooney Jr. is the son of the late Dan Rooney, and the brother of current president Art Rooney II. The latter also has a son named Dan Rooney currently in the organization, whom we call Daniel Martin Rooney for the purpose of drawing distinctions. He previously worked as a scout, and as an assistant coach, but is currently on the business side of things. This Rooney is the one everyone believes will be the successor to take over the team.
That is unless Ike Taylor–excuse me, Ike Rooney-Taylor—takes over instead in the name of Dan Rooney. While the Steelers have never listed him on the team’s website, he has at least previously worked as a scout, including during the 2024 NFL Draft process. We have no current reason to believe he is no longer working there, but we cannot confirm it.
Now, would Ike Taylor really add Rooney to his name? It’s hard to judge that as an outsider. Only he truly knows just how much he feels like a part of the family. But as he said, everyone on the outside could see how close they were. It would be quite a tribute to take the family’s name into his own.
