Rooney First To Greet The New Commish!

Rooney first to greet the new commissioner
Thursday, August 10, 2006By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Roger Goodell found out he was the new NFL commissioner when Dan Rooney came to his hotel room. And he knew before the chairman of the Steelers even said a word.
"He saw me smiling," Rooney said. "He knew when he saw me smiling."
It was Rooney, chairman of the committee responsible for finding Pete Rozelle's replacement in 1989, who phoned Paul Tagliabue to tell him he had been named the league's new commissioner 17 years ago.
And he got to do it again Tuesday afternoon in Chicago, only this time he merely had to go upstairs in the hotel to tell Goodell, a 1981 Washington & Jefferson College graduate.
Rooney also got to be the person to deliver the news to Goodell's wife, Jane, and he did it by calling her on the phone and saying, "Hello, Mrs. Commissioner."
"She was just thrilled," Rooney said.
Rooney and his son, Art II, the team president, were back in Latrobe last night to watch the Steelers' final night practice of training camp, one day after Goodell was elected on the fifth ballot to become the league's commissioner.
By comparison, Tagliabue wasn't elected until the 12th ballot in 1989. It took 23 ballots before Rozelle was appointed in 1960.
"I would say I was surprised we did it in five ballots," Rooney said. "But I wasn't surprised it was quick."
Goodell, the league's chief development officer and the person responsible for hatching NFL Network, was selected from among five finalists. He is expected to take over day-to-day duties of the league around Sept. 1.
Rooney said Goodell was not hired merely because of his extensive background in the league or because his appointment would ensure a smooth transition when Tagliabue departs.
"I got up and talked and I said, 'Hey, I'm not for Roger Goodell for any of these reasons except one -- he is the best commissioner we can get,' " Rooney said.
"That's what it is. It isn't because he can do the labor or because he can do the NFL Network. He did it all."
Goodell has been with the NFL since 1982 when he began as an intern. He rose through the ranks until he was named chief operating officer in 2001, assisting Tagliabue with stadium expansion and construction and brokering the league's labor agreement with the players union.
"Only in America," Rooney said.