Perhaps the least understood aspect of the NFL's Rooney Rule is why, in fact, it is named after Pittsburgh Steelers patriarch Dan Rooney.
The year was 2002, and the NFL was under heavy criticism for its weak record of hiring minority coaches. Worse, two teams -- the Minnesota Vikings and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the year before -- had recently fired prominent black coaches and replaced them after interviewing only one [white] candidate. The league entered 2003 with just two black head coaches. Then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue knew he had a problem, so he called on the owner who most possessed the empathy, sensitivity and strength within league circles to attempt change.