Where have you gone, Dan Rooney? A Steeler Nation casts its eager eyes to you

... Dan played hardball in 1984, good lesson for today

“The Steelers are cooking. So why potentially mess with a recipe that's working 

by introducing an ingredient that could ruin the whole meal?”

USA Today, Nov. 9, 2018

For the first three+ decades, the Pittsburgh Steelers were not a major business focus of their owner, Art Rooney, Sr., who earned his fortune through race tracks throughout the U.S. He founded the original franchise in 1933, but was not a hard-core CEO. His heart was often most predominant in his business decisions with the Steelers, unlike his approach to the race tracks.

However, in the 1960s, Art Sr. decided to turn over the day-to-day operations of the Steelers to his son, Dan. The eldest son first became the personnel director and then de facto CEO as Art moved to the sidelines.

Dan's first coaching decision, Bill Austin, was a disaster, but fortunately, he quickly reversed course. Dan sat down with his father and decided on a rock-solid, Pittsburgh type of guy to direct their fortunes in 1969: Chuck Noll.

He worked with Noll and other members of his family to change the focus of the team, building it through the draft. First, Mean Joe Greene, then Terry Bradshaw, then Franco Harris, all NFL Hall of Famers today. Then, in 1974, the personnel director, his brother, Art Jr., engineered the best draft in history with four players eventually becoming NFL Hall of Famers.

Four Super Bowls in six years from 1974 until 1979, and Steeler Nation was created.

Tough boss at times: Ask Franco

After the Super Bowls, the Steelers suffered through a tough 1980s and one of the player contract disputes may be instrumental for the current Steelers, who do not have that kind of leadership.

In 1984, one of the top running backs in the NFL was aging, but Franco Harris was — and still is — one of the most revered figures in Pittsburgh. A statue of him is currently at Pittsburgh International Airport, which actually depicts one of the most memorable moments in Steeler history, the Immaculate Reception. On that play, Harris, then a rookie in 1972, caught a deflected pass on the last pass of the game and sprinted into the end zone to defeat the dastardly Oakland Raiders.

That play gave the Steelers their first playoff opportunity, and the fans never forgot that.

So, in 1984, Harris needed just about 300 yards to break former Cleveland Browns star Jim Brown’s career rushing record. It would be the culmination of a great career, but Franco overplayed his hand — and Dan Rooney played hardball.

Harris held out for a new contract during training camp, and Rooney, a pretty tight-fisted fiscal guy, refused to budge. Things became so bad that the Steelers cut Harris, a very unpopular move in Steeler Nation. The fans knew Franco was at the end of the career, but after four Super Bowls and the possible start of hall of fame nominations for many Steelers, this would be just one more award for the Steelers.

The result was that Harris played for the Seattle Seahawks that year, but he played in just eight games, garnering only 170 yards — which was 192 short of breaking Brown’s record. It was an ignominious end to a hall of fame career.

Relevance to 2018

Dan Rooney is revered today, but he passed away in 2017 after suffering through some difficult years health-wise. He had moved to Ireland in 2009 and served as ambassador to the country of his ancestors origin, calling it one of the great honors of his life. At the time of his death in 2017, Paul Tagliabue, a former NFL commissioner, called Rooney “an extraordinary man of faith, conviction, reason, and peace. He loved his family, his Steelers and his Pittsburgh. His values were of America, Ireland and his Church. He was an inspiration to millions throughout America, and in many other lands. He was at home on mean streets, in locker rooms and chapels, with presidents, popes, poets and visionaries. Few have served so many so well.”

The Steelers need him now because they have a contract problem with a running back who is very talented but is not revered in Pittsburgh as Harris was. And, as the quote above from USA Today notes, he has the potential to ruin what appears to be potentially a strong ending to a season. I feel more confident about the Steelers doing well in the postseason this year than I did after last season, despite the fact that they won 13 games in 2017.

Until now.

The 2018 season started inauspiciously for the Steelers with the media focused on Le’Veon Bell, talking about the gloom and doom of the team if he did not sign his $14 million+ contract for the season. A tie with the 0-16 Browns, a 1-2-1 start, could have been the result of the Bell distraction.

Then James Conner and an outraged offensive line decided to prove that Bell was expendable, and they have — and he is. Bell reportedly turned down a $70 million offer, about $14 million a year, from the Steelers, with $33 mil guaranteed. He was apparently asking for $17 million since that is what the Steelers gave wide receiver Antonio Brown a year ago.

Bell sat out preseason last year, but came back to play. It took him almost all of September — four games — to work his way into playing shape. He not only sat out preseason, he did not show up at all — until he has to. He has to sign his franchise tender by next Tuesday or be ineligible to enter the free market, which is what he wants to do.

The offensive linemen on the team have uncharacteristically ripped Bell publicly for his self-centeredness. Now, putting him on the roster would be a major distraction, and it could ruin their five-game winning streak and potentially, their success in the postseason.

My recommendation is simple: Let Bell sign and then suspend him for six games. Do not let him on the sideline at all. Keep him out of team meetings and pay him for doing nothing.

In other words, play hardball. That is what Dan Rooney did with Franco Harris in 1984, and that is what they should do today.

Winning a Super Bowl this season would be a reach because of our defense, but it would not be impossible. Another win would give us a two-win advantage over the current second-place teams. However, Bell is a major distraction, and Dan Rooney would have never put up with that back in the day.

Hopefully, they will do so today. Making an error could be costly down the stretch for this team.