The Pittsburgh Steelers will play the NFL’s first-ever regular season game in Ireland this weekend, a moment especially meaningful for a franchise whose late owner, Dan Rooney, long dreamed of such a day.
“I think a lot about the late ambassador Rooney and how fired up he would be about this trip and how important the development of this trip was for him,” Mike Tomlin said during his Tuesday press conference. “I certainly will be thinking a lot about him when we’re there. You talk about a guy that certainly had a lot of passion for Ireland and obviously the Steelers…I’m sure he’s gonna be smiling down at us this weekend.”
Rooney’s impact on the Steelers — and the NFL — stretched far beyond his love of Ireland.
After starting in minor roles in 1955, Rooney became the Steelers’ general manager in 1969. He later assumed full ownership, a tenure that lasted until 2016. Over his 61 seasons around the team, Pittsburgh won 21 division titles and six Super Bowls. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
As GM, Rooney hired Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll and kicked off one of the greatest sports dynasties to ever exist. His impact went beyond football operations, as he helped secure stadium deals to stay in Pittsburgh and ushered in important league policies like the “Rooney Rule” to increase diversity in the coaching ranks.
Rooney played a key role in the NFL expanding its footprint into Europe, so this regular season game in Ireland for his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers is a monumental moment for the Rooney family and the franchise as a whole. He served as an ambassador to Ireland from 2009 to 2012 during the Obama Administration.
Many of the older Steelers have fond memories of Dan Rooney, but that’s not the case for almost all players on the current team. Tomlin was asked if he is taking this trip as an opportunity to educate young Steelers on the team tradition.
“All the time, and it doesn’t take a trip like this for those conversations to happen,” Tomlin said. “Those of us that knew him certainly educate the younger players, the new Steeler, about his mode of operation, how he cared about this football team and what he thought this football team meant.”
When the Steelers take the field in Dublin this weekend, they won’t just be making history overseas. They’ll be carrying out one of Dan Rooney’s greatest wishes.
