Dan Rooney Quotations

We've always been very close to the community, and we do what's necessary for Pittsburgh. I like to see that, and I think the Fords are the same way. I like Detroit.

We're so thrilled to bring (a championship) back to Pittsburgh.

We're so proud to bring it back to Pittsburgh.

We're going to the Super Bowl to win it, not to just be there. This is one of the great moments in the whole history of the league and I've been around a long time.

We're going to operate the way we always do, and that is try and take care of our own. The team that took us to the Super Bowl and won are the guys that we're looking for. We think it's to their advantage and to our advantage to do it that way.

What made him was his strength. This was a time players didn't have strength. I remember we were playing the Giants at Forbes Field one time and it was a very close game, and they were moving the ball. He sacked the quarterback three times in a row.

Uh, well I guess it's you and me.

When it went to the one year, I did think it had a good chance to pass. I thought it might make it.

Somebody could change coaches and still win, but doing it the way we do it is us. It's the way we do things, the way our organization puts things together and looks at things. Stability is important.

She put people on a path for success. She just kept you going and made you feel this was the most important thing you had to do at this particular time.

Mike speaks up all the time. I don't see him taking any back seat.

Revenue sharing is a tough thing but it's great.

Pete brought us into the modern times with the television and other things. Paul has really taken us and made us a business entity.

I would have hoped there would have been more minority hires right now.

Getting there is good, but we're going there to win.

If anything, since March more people have come to realize it's a bad idea,

If we are fortunate enough to win, we'll have a nice present for the city of Pittsburgh when we get back there on Monday.

If that kind of stuff won games, we'd all be doing them, including me.

He was bright and that came across. He was a young man with great enthusiasm. He had confidence he could do the job and that was evident as we kept talking.

He would have been with us. We were great friends.

He's done everything we've asked him to do.

He described how the owners and players should be in this together for the good of the league.

I would say this probably compares to our first time, Super Bowl IX. It's very similar, these young guys we have, just like the players then. It's really their turn, their time up. The kind of people they are, it's a close team, they've done things the hard way although it probably worked out, home and away.

I would say we're partners with the players now. There's owners that would resist it now, but ... I really think that's the way it should be.

I think it could be done by July. We'll get it together after this meeting, sit down and talk and then come up with a plan. But we're too busy here right now. That's my opinion.

I think the potential for us having that kind of rivalry is good, but you have to play them, ... I was asked by a writer in Houston about what I thought of the rivalry of Houston (Texans) and Pittsburgh, and I laughed and said, 'We've only played them once.'

It is going to be by itself, I think. That is what our hope is, to do it that way.

I think everyone has to realize we have to get this done. No one on either side wants to commit economic suicide.

Over my dead body. That's not something we need.

Rod made the trip and won the game for us. Not only did he play a great game, but he forced the fumble that set up Gary Anderson's field goal in overtime.

Paul knows how to lead. It's that simple.

It feels great today, I'll tell you that. The coach already told me we're going to the Super Bowl to win it, not just to be there.

I think he could run for mayor of Detroit - and probably win.

I think he can definitely be as good as Bradshaw. I do think he can be.

I think he can definitely be as good as Bradshaw. He's going to keep improving, keep getting better. Bradshaw was the same way.

I thought it was a good idea, but I wasn't sure how it would be received. That's why it's only on one side of the helmet. Then we took it from there, and we had everybody asking questions and I said, 'Let's keep it that way. It's really a novelty.

I think they're meeting and there is some progress. But it's not enough, unfortunately.

I might say a little prayer. You take them as they come.

The amount of the revenue difference was $7, 8 million, you'll have to use that correctly. We're going to operate the way we always do, that's try to take care of our own. The team that took us to the Super Bowl and won are the guys we're looking for. We think it's to their advantage, it's to our advantage to do it that way.

We have people in the organization who believe in the way we do things. That's very important when the fingers are pointing at you to change.

We've got the draft, and we'll find some college free agents and sign a veteran free agent in a spot where we think we need help.

We've got the best labor deal in sports. We've got the best league. He's been our leader. The whole way he's done this has been wonderful.

We do have a certain way we do things. We do lose some players to free agency, but maybe we want to lose some of those. It's very easy for people to say 'you need to do it this way' or 'you need to change.' That's when you have to stand up and stick with the way you do things.

We basically had the same core team through that period. But that was a really good Raiders team we lost to, and without Franco it was just too tough.

Yeah, every team has to look to maximize their revenue.

Estate taxes make every one of us nervous. If there’s an owner who isn’t, he has his head in the sand.

I said from the very beginning that I was looking for the best person, I had no doubt it was Roger Goodell.

We are so thrilled to bring this back to Pittsburgh.

There are 32 teams so I think there are 32 different ways to operate. We just try to do things that fit within a certain philosophy. We want that philosophy to be evident at every level of the organization.

Fans here are very knowledgeable, but at the same time they want us to win, and they want to see you coming along.

We're the last people who were here during that time. It's really great to see this new generation come on, this generation of players, generation of coaches, it's really an exciting time. They've done well and they've earned it. I look at this as a separate thing; this is not one for the thumb, it's one for these guys.

You better talk to Art about that. I know what it is, but let him explain it to you.

This was the greatest football team that was ever put together.

This sign says it all and it's for you. Thank you. The press, they had their doubts, but you never did and we thank you.

We'd have trouble (winning). The cap has been a great thing for the league. Our relation with labor has been very good, and that helps us. It's a great system. I hope we can get together soon and extend the agreement. People are working on that.

Bill's been great for us, and we've always had a great relationship. It's just great that he could continue the legacy.

Ernie's physical and relentless style of play helped the Steelers earn a reputation for being one of the NFL's toughest teams in the 1950s. He was undersized for his position, but his strength and power were among his greatest assets.

There's nothing to say. The game's over. It's not going to change the score.

People try to compare this to a normal business. It isn't.

Of course, Wellington was right. He always thought of the league.

This is real good for the game. I always said it in the '70s: What we need as a league is one good, dominant team, and then let everybody else fight it out.

They really did have a lot of confidence, which was great.

It's a tough, expensive agreement. But I think we'll be fine. We'll have to watch our expenses and things like that, and be fiscally responsible. But it's a great thing. This gives us labor peace for a while, which is what separated the National Football League from other sports. It's good for the players, and I think it will be good for the league.

It starts before the draft. We interview them, and we talk to them about it. We want players who are a good fit for our locker room. And having smart players, that's an important phase of it.

It's going to happen. Believe me, it's going to happen.

The NFL has grown leaps and bounds beyond just being an entity. It's become an identity, and Paul almost jealously protects that to the point of occasionally imposing his will.

The biggest thing my father passed on to me, and I hope we've continued it, is to treat people right. We treat our players as family, not workers. We're concerned for them away from the field and whatever problems they might have. My father always had a relationship with the players. And I've tried to do the same.

The biggest thing he passed on, and I hope we continue it, is to treat people right.

It was a compromise by all parties and I think that makes it great.

It's wonderful. I think it's a great thing for this city.

So far, it's great. We haven't punched anybody yet.

I'm not really for that. But I have to listen to what's being said. He's not the commissioner for the small markets. He's not the commissioner for the big markets. They have the same goal.

I knew it was a good one, a good symbol and said what we were. It said steel. It's still good.

I'm very proud of the way this team played. We played super defense, and how about our quarterback making that tackle?

If you have good people, why change? If you keep making changes all the time, you're like an expansion team, always starting over. Stability is everything. I believe if you get the right person, he's going to come through.

I'll never forget this because our doctor told (Rooney) he didn't think Rod would be able to make the trip and that they were thinking about checking him into the hospital,

I really feel that when you're changing coaches, it's almost like you're an expansion team, starting over again.

I guess what all this does is determine some specific measurement that may equate to athletic ability. But it's hard to get excited if a guy doesn't play well on film.

Being from Pittsburgh had a little to do with hiring him, because we had coaches in the past who didn't believe in Pittsburgh the way Bill and Chuck Noll do. They thought Pittsburgh was a special place.

I could see in him a guy who would have success over the long haul. And that's what he's been. His roots have helped him. He's not one of those people who come to Pittsburgh and look around and think he's in some provincial town. He knows Pittsburgh, he understands the people, and he thinks of it as home. It's great to have him.

He's meant so much as a player, but he's also done so much as far as motivating and showing these young people just what they should do. He's been a real leader.

The complaining about Bill was not in Pittsburgh. The fans know it's not our style to be impulsive. This is a tough league, which makes good coaching very meaningful. In a time of parity, when things can happen fast, that's vital.