TAMPA -- Dan Rooney was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2000 for his contributions to the league as owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers. But one of his greatest legacies in the game of football is something he did after he was already a Hall of Famer.
In 2003, Rooney convinced his fellow owners to adopt a new rule requiring every team to interview at least one minority candidate before they could hire a new head coach. Now known as the Rooney Rule, the policy has played a major part in increasing the number of African-American head coaches -- and keeping the NFL far ahead of college football in terms of the diversity in its coaching ranks.
Dan Rooney: Hiring Mike Tomlin Was Not Part of the Rooney Rule originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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