There may soon be a shift in the dynamic at the top of the food chain for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
When asked when Daniel Rooney, Art Rooney II’s son, would take his father’s role as owner and president of the Steelers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo answered by stating that it could happen within the next half-decade.
“I think it’s safe to say within the next five years, but the Steelers have not unveiled a timeline,” Fittipaldo wrote.
Pittsburgh has not made any succession plans public, as Fittipaldo noted, but it’s interesting nonetheless that the organization could make a large-scale change in the near future.
Art II, who is the son of the original Dan Rooney, has served as the Steelers’ president since 2003 and oversaw Super Bowl victories during both the 2005 and 2008 campaigns.
Daniel is currently listed as Pittsburgh’s Director of Business Development & Strategy on the team’s official website and is not to be confused with his uncle, Dan Rooney Jr., who is the organization’s Vice President of Player Personnel.
Daniel, who played quarterback at Dartmouth from 2008 to 2011, has remained in his current seat since 2012. Before that, he had served as both a scouting and coaching assistant for the Steelers while also interning for the NHL and U.S. Embassy in Ireland during 2011, coinciding with his grandfather’s tenure as ambassador to the country from July 2009 to December 2012.
The Steelers have been a family business ever since Art Rooney Sr. founded the organization all the way back in 1933, evidenced by the fact that Art Rooney Jr. (Vice President) and Anthony Rooney (Scouting Intern) also both hold titles for the team along with all of the other individuals we’ve already highlighted.
They’ll uphold that tradition considering Daniel is next in line to lead the franchise after Art II, though a concrete timeline has yet to materialize publicly.
