Dan Rooney Daniel Milton " Dan " Rooney , CBE ( Hon . ) ( born July 20 , 1932 ) is the United States Ambassador to Ireland . He is chairman emeritus of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team in the National Football League ( NFL ) , which was founded by his father , Art Rooney . Rooney was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000 for his contributions to the game . He is credited with spearheading a requirement that NFL teams with head coach and general manager vacancies interview at least one minority candidate , which has become known as the " Rooney Rule " . Rooney is also co - founder of the Ireland - related fundraising organization The Ireland Funds . Life and career . Rooney was born in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , the son of Kathleen ( née McNulty ) and Pittsburgh Steelers ' owner Art Rooney . In the Steelers organization , Rooney has been involved in every aspect of the franchise since he was a young boy , often assisting his father at Pitt Stadium and Forbes Field . He grew up in the North Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh and attended North Catholic High School where he excelled as the team ' s quarterback . He shared quarterback duties with future CIA Director and lifelong friend Michael Hayden , both of whom also attended Duquesne University . By early 1969 Rooney was managing the day to day operations of the team and personally selected the coaching hire of Chuck Noll . He was appointed team president in 1975 and was officially given full operational control of the franchise by his father who remained Chairman and President Emeritus , as well as the public face of the franchise until his death in 1988 . During his tenure , he has implemented a philosophy and management style that emphasizes open , practical and efficient management . The results have been obvious : since 1972 , the Steelers have won 15 division championships , 8 AFC Championships , and an NFL record 6 Super Bowl Championships . Rooney became the patriarch and controlling owner of the team in 1988 , following the death of his father . In 2003 , Rooney followed in his father ' s footsteps by slowly ceding day to day operations of the franchise to the next generation of the family . Although still chairman and to many fans the public face of the team , his son Art Rooney II has now assumed full operational control of the Steelers . Dan Rooney is a graduate of Duquesne University , majoring in accounting . He has been involved with the Steelers since 1960 , originally working as director of personnel . While Rooney has generally avoided the spotlight , he has been a very active owner behind the scenes . Rooney helped lead the negotiations of the collective bargaining agreement of 1982 , and is largely credited both by owners and players of having ended a strike that lasted half of the season . He is also one of the main architects of the salary cap , which was implemented in 1993 . He surprised many with his public endorsement of Barack Obama for president . The family had traditionally been very private on politics , even being rumored to have a Republican bent . Rooney responded to his public endorsement with : " When I think of Barack Obama ’ s America I have great hope . I support his candidacy and look forward to his Presidency . " Rooney is the benefactor of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature and Vice - Chairman of The American Ireland Fund . He is also a Founding Chairman of The Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania . In 2008 , Rooney became an honorary Commander of the British Empire . In 2009 he won the 2009 Jack Horrigan Memorial Award , presented by the Professional Football Writers of America to a professional football official or player " " for his or her professionalism in helping football writers do their job " " . He was named to the PoliticsPA list of " Sy Snyder ' s Power 50 " list of influential individuals in Pennsylvania politics in 2002 . Sale of the Steelers . On July 7 , 2008 , Dan and his son , team president Art Rooney II , announced that they were seeking to buy out Dan Rooney ' s brothers ' shares in the team . The team initially said that some of Rooney ' s four brothers want to " get out of the NFL and focus their business efforts on their racetracks and other interests . " This was report in The Wall Street Journal ' s Web site that the Steelers have " been secretly shopped to potential buyers amid continuing divisions among the five sons of the team ' s founder , Art Rooney Sr . " This forced the Steelers to announce that prolonged , ongoing negotiations were under way concerning the " restructuring " of ownership , which could result in the sale of the franchise or a consolidation of control within the Rooney family . Discussions have supposedly been taking place for two years . The team said that chairman Dan Rooney and his son , president Art Rooney II , are trying to buy Dan ' s brothers ' shares in order to " ensure compliance with NFL ownership policies . " Dan and Art Rooney II , reportedly control 16 percent of the Steelers ' shares but conduct most of the team ' s operations . Together , the Rooneys hold 80 percent of the company . The other 20 percent is owned by the McGinley Family , who are first cousins of the Rooneys . The policies refer to The Rooney family ' s gambling operation . The family owns racetracks in New York and Florida , and the team said " these facilities have added forms of gaming that are inconsistent with NFL gambling policy . " The racetracks that were owned by the Rooney ' s recently received slot machines . According to league policy , no NFL owner may own , directly or indirectly , any interests in a gambling casino . The NFL defines any facility with slot machine s as a casino . One of the Rooneys ' interests called into question are the Yonkers Raceway , a harness racing track outside of New York City , which was purchased by the five Rooney brothers in 1972 . The facility recently added video gaming machine s , slot machines , and now has 5 , 300 such games , according to its Web site . The other interest is the Palm Beach Kennel Club , a Greyhound racetrack in West Palm Beach , Fla . The track was purchased by Art Rooney Sr . and his five sons bought the track in 1970 . The facility advertises poker rooms on its Web site . The Steelers ' statement said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has asked former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue to " serve as a league representative in discussions with the family in order to reach an agreement on the separation of the gambling interests and on a restructuring of ownership if the team is sold . " Any sale involving an NFL team is subject to a league review and must be approved by 75 percent of member clubs . The Steelers were valued at $ 929 million by Forbes Magazine in September 2007 . However Rooney ' s brothers : Art Rooney Jr . , Timothy Rooney , Patrick Rooney and John Rooney released a statement confirming that they retained Goldman , Sachs & Co . to put a price tag on the franchise , and analysts in New York placed its value between $ 800 million and $ 1 . 2 billion . Their shares are likely worth more than Dan Rooney and son Art II have offered in the initial buyout could raise even higher and still remain under the NFL ' s ceiling of $ 150 million in ownership debt . Each Rooney brother ' s stake is worth about $ 160 million , or less than Dan Rooney is believed to be offering . Also the brother who may determine if the majority of the team remains in the Rooney family is Art Rooney Jr . , a Pro Football Hall of Fame nominee for his drafting skills who was fired by Dan Rooney in 1987 . The brothers likely would not have retained Goldman , Sachs if they felt they could soon work out a deal with Dan Rooney . The move also reflected on their fears that selling to Dan Rooney , coupled with the ensuing taxes , could leave their children and grandchildren with far less money than their shares are worth . If any of the brothers were to die in the near future without a change in ownership , their heirs would face estate tax es of up to 45 percent of the shares ' value . Dan has been working with Morgan Stanley and PNC Financial Services to attempt to bring in additional investors who might prop up his buyout attempt . However Duquesne Capital Management chairman Stanley Druckenmiller apparently is interested in acquiring the team , according to the Wall Street Journal story . The Associated Press reported on July 8 , 2008 that a deal could be reached within days to sell a majority interest in the Steelers to Druckenmiller , taking control of the franchise away from the Rooney family . However Dan Rooney , stopped short of guaranteeing that he and his son , would be able to stay at the helm of a team . He hinted that " many people , " not just Druckenmiller , might be interested in the NFL franchise . NFL spokesman Greg Aiello stated that the NFL will continue to support the Rooneys in their efforts to retain control of the Steelers . The only thing that is known at this time is that the franchise will not relocate to another city , only that the ownership will either change or be consolidated . On November 21 , 2008 , the Pittsburgh Post - Gazette reported that , Controversies . James Harrison vs . Cedrick Wilson . On March 19 , 2008 ; Rooney released wide receiver Cedrick Wilson from the Steelers , after he was arrested for punching his former girlfriend . However earlier that month , on March 8 , Rooney failed to offer any type of discipline to linebacker James Harrison for slapping his girlfriend . When asked about the incident involving Wilson , Rooney stated that " the Steelers do not condone violence of any kind , especially against women , " . However he was then confronted about this by Ed Bouchette and Michael A . Fuoco of the Pittsburgh Post - Gazette , who asked why Harrison was not punished for committing the same crime . Rooney said that the cases were different and stated that " I know many are asking the question of [ why ] we released Wilson and Harrison we kept . The circumstances — I know of the incidents , they are completely different . In fact , when I say we don ' t condone these things , we don ' t , but we do have to look at the circumstances that are involved with other players and things like that , so they ' re not all the same . What Jimmy Harrison was doing and how the incident occurred , what he was trying to do was really well worth it . He was doing something that was good , wanted to take his son to get baptized where he lived and things like that . She said she didn ' t want to do it . " Rooney later said that Harrison had no intention of harming his girlfriend when he went to her house to pick up his son . " The situation angered him . He didn ' t go there with intent . " Meanwhile Rooney stated that the Wilson case was different . According to Rooney " [ Wilson ] knew what he was doing . He knew where his [ former ] girlfriend was and went to the bar looking for her . When he got there he punched her . That ' s different and I understand he expressed no regret . Afterwards Rooney was criticized by the Women ' s Center and Shelter of Pittsburgh as a result of his comments . ESPN ' s Matt Mosley later wrote that Rooney ' s attempt to " explain that Harrison ' s heart was in the right place . . . had to be one of the worst Public Relations moments in club history . " The Steelers explanation of why they kept Harrison , a starting linebacker and Pro Bowl player , and cut Wilson , a backup wide receiver , failed to satisfy their most strident critics . Steelers taxes and taxpayer funding . In August 2004 , Pittsburgh Tribune - Review writer Bill Steigerwald reported that Rooney ' s team received $ 5 million in state funds for a new , $ 12 million amphitheater . This was in addition to the $ 158 million in public subsidies the organization received to build Heinz Field . Steigerwald wrote that : Since the Steelers don ' t own any taxable property , the Rooneys dodge city and county real estate taxes . Heinz Field , which the Steelers operate and profit from in myriad ways , is owned by taxpayers through the Sports and Exhibition Authority . The team offices , practice field and workout facilities are leased from UPMC ' s tax - exempt Sports Performance Complex . Steelers players pay payroll and occupation taxes like everyone else . Fans pay the 5 percent city amusement tax on each ticket . But the Steelers - like a few other profit - making corporations - aren ' t exempt from paying both a city mercantile tax ( 3 mills on concessions , etc . ) and a city business privilege tax ( 6 mills on gross receipts ) . A mill is 1 / 1000 of a dollar . Tax officials say these taxes are highly complicated to compute - and the final amounts the Steelers pay are top secret . Ambassador to Ireland and politics . On March 17 , 2009 , President Obama announced he had nominated Rooney to become the next US ambassador to Ireland , citing the owner ' s longstanding support for Irish - American charitable causes . However a March 18 , 2009 story in the " USA Today " , stated that Rooney was awarded the position of ambassador , by Obama , for being " a loyal supporter who campaigned on his behalf in a key battleground state . " In 2008 , Rooney gave $ 30 , 000 to a Democratic Party committee that aided Obama ' s campaign , according to CQ MoneyLine , a non - partisan group that tracks political contributions . According to David Lewis , a Vanderbilt University political scientist and the author of " The Politics of Presidential Appointments " , " giving coveted ambassadorships to political supporters is a relatively low - risk way for presidents to repay campaign debts . " Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton swore him in as the new ambassador to Ireland on July 1 , 2009 . Ambassador Rooney presented his credentials to Irish President Mary McAleese on July 3 , before making his first official speaking engagement at lunch hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland . In an interview with The Irish Times in April 2011 Rooney mentioned that he would consider resigning his ambassadorship in order to campaign for Obama ' s reelection . However , in a prepared statement released after that interview was published Rooney stated , " I was asked what I could do to help [ Obama ] in the next election and I responded that the best thing I could do would be to help him campaign . Were I to do so , it would require my resignation as ambassador to Ireland . However , I am very pleased with my accomplishments to date and I intend to continue to carry out my duties . "