Ask Art Rooney II three questions!

Art Rooney II does read the web. So in theory he reads this excellent fourm.

If you could ask Art Rooney II three questions live and he had to answer them, which 3 questions would you ask?

Unfortunelty 95% of the media lacks the stones to ask Rooney the tough questions as Rooeny can " influence " their media jobs. I get that, but suppose you are at his press conference. Which 3 questions would you ask him?

I have my three, and they might surprise some of you / not be so obvious. But let's hear yours first.

 

When are you selling the team?

May I suggest TOMORROW PLEASE!

 

Where's the beef?

Got Milk?

What is love?
........ baby don't hurt me

 

1.) Why can't you increase the size of the overall staff of the Front Office?!

2.) How much do you intend to invest into the overall improvements of the Stadium?!

3.) At what point will you step down?!

 

Why are you not firing Mike Tomlin

Why are you not firing Mike Tomlin

Why are you not firing Mike Tomlin

 

1. What is your name?


2. What is your quest?


3. What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

 

Thank you for fielding my questions Mr. Rooney. I have three top of mind questions.



Question #1 Have you ever considered firing Mike Tomlin who has not won a playoff game for the past 8 seasons and counting?



Question #2 How close are you to handing the reins over to your son, Dan?



Question #3 According to an NFL survey of players, the Steelers came in 28th of 32 teams and have the following grades:


https://nflpa.com/report-cards/2025/pittsburgh-steelers

Many feel keeping the employees happy is critical to success. As a man who makes 100's of millions of dollars on the Steelers per calendar year, what do you plan to do to bring up any grade below a B- and let's not forget the playing surface of Acrisure stadium?.



Once again, thank you in advance for answering all the questions with honesty and integrity.

 

If and when Rooney is ready to move on from Tomlin, his departure will be framed as a resignation, like Cowher's, a trade to another team, or a "retirement" like Bruce Arians. Tomlin will not be let go the day after the season with the other fired coaches.

My three questions would be:

1. Will Mike Tomlin coach through the end of his current contract?

2. If yes, are you giving Tomlin another three year extension?

3. What gets you excited about waking up each morning as the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers?

 

3A. African or European?

 

1) Are you happy with the current state of the team and coaches?

2) Can you justify Bags Tomlin staying if the team misses the playoffs or loses again in he first round?

3) What is the timeline of you stepping down and your son Dan taking over.

 

1. IIRC, the last time ownership was passed down to a new generation in your family, I believe there were serious tax implications that prompted the family to take on minority investors. How do you see inheritance of the team affecting the next generation of Rooneys? Will ownership get too diluted inside or outside the family?
2. It seems to me like the mission statement of this team is something like "win the next game". Where we do everything we can to maximize winning in the present. I think this strategy served the team very well when we had a franchise QB (Ben). And even in the 90s when league rules made it easier to be competitive without an above average to elite QB. But, after a mostly failed retooling of the offense and a defense that's getting older and more expensive, do you think it would be better for the team for prioritize drafting and developing young players even if it means a couple of lean years in the win column (and the higher draft picks that come with that)?
3. Historically, the Steelers have been a team that maintained consistently competitive teams by building through the draft. But recent high value draft picks have been deemed unsuccessful by the team. For example, here are recent 1st and 2nd round picks that did not get a 2nd contract (or only short deals at the minimum): Kenny Pickett (1st), Najee Harris (1st), Devin Bush (1st), Edmunds (1st...he's the token 1 year @ minimum) Pickens (2nd), Claypool (2nd), Washington (2nd). Why do you think the team has struggled to draft long term starters with premium draft picks?

Bonus: Kind of a follow up to (3). Historically, the team has resisted the temptation to splurge on outside UFAs. I think if you look across the league, you'll find that these big signings of outside UFAs usually deliver poor value to teams. New league rules about cash spending now seem to force teams into big UFA signings when they have consistently missed on 1st and 2nd round picks (i.e., don't have internal players worth big pay days). It seems like this is the league forcing teams who made poor decisions at the draft table to then double down with more poor decisions in UFA. Production wise, it seems like the Steelers may have made this type of decision with their biggest UFA acquisition this past offseason. Do you think this will cause teams that don't draft well into a kind of viscious cycle of poor drafting and UFA overpayment? If so, how should the Steelers improve their draft process so they don't fall prey to this issue?

 

1. Do you prefer Weller 12 or Pappy Van Winkel Special Reserve 12 for your afternoon session in your den?
2. Do you find yourself nodding off during Steeler games as frequently as I do?
3. How often do you invite Tomlin & coaches to a post-game dinner?

 

With all due respect, are some of the minority team owners like Mel Blount and Joe Greene ever consulted about the coaching staff and player development?

 

1) When are you going to fix the concession stand and bathroom problems so that fans can get back to their seats before the 4th qtr begins? 2) how is the selection of assistant coaches handled? 3) what year can expect our 4th coach in the last 6 decades?

 

Ima favorite this thread and wait until the Friday after the season's over to respond. Too much stuff could change, or get much worse between now and then.

 

Teams don’t have to spend to the limit. I believe they have to spend 85% of the cap but they can go less than 85% briefly. I think it’s a 3 year average. Also some teams trade for players with bad contracts to increase their draft capital (I think people complained when the Browns did it)

 

My three questions would be
How are you?
How is the family?
May I have a job as a 60yr young intern?
Thank you Mr Rooney
If he gives me a bonus question
Do you call Tomlin
Magic Mike

 

Yep. They have to spend to the cash limit, which is something like 85% of the cap limit. My understanding is the same as yours that it's over a 3 year average. Where the 3 year term is set by the league (next year is the last year in the current period I think).

Our problem this year is that the only recent draft pick that we've had who was worth a decent 2nd contract was Highsmith. This did put him inside the top 10 at his position when he signed it. I think PF when he signed was 11th.

I think our issue was that because we have missed on so many good draft picks, we just don't have internal people that are worth the money. So we overpaid (and over guaranteed) to get DK as an outside UFA. True to a lesser extent with Slay too (who was a complete miss...but not the same level of contract)

I think teams like ours (who haven't drafted well) need to either overpay bad draft picks (thankful we didn't keep Kenny or pay Moore what he got on the open market) or bring in bad UFA contracts (e.g. DK and Slay).

Not the same thing, but we didn't seem to feel any need to pressure Watt to make any kind of concessions on his 3rd contract. Maybe that's still the case without the cash requirements...but we used to negotiate tougher than this (and still did with Cam...not DK or Watt though).

I agree that you can trade for players with bad contracts to get draft capital. This is true in most leagues IMO. Taking on a **** contract means you get compensated in some way. Personally, I think this is generally OK. But I get how others don't like it because it seems too much like buying draft picks. I would have more of a problem with it if it was in an uncapped league. Or a capped league where cash and cap spending is regulated as tightly as the NFL is.

 

"Who Wrote the Book of Love?"
"How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?"
"What's Going On?"

 

Damn you man, the last one is giving me neck pain.

 

To funny!!!

 

yes - like I said - WHEN ARE YOU SELLING THE TEAM

PLEASE GET OUT!