The Steelers Depot website (LINK) picks up on a mailbag question that appeared in The Athletic regarding the future of Pitttsburgh's NFL franchise. The writer suggests Dan Rooney '12, a former backup Dartmouth quarterback, will eventually sit atop the Steelers' organizational chart. The Depot posting includes this thought from beat writer Mike DeFabo that first appeared in The Athletic:
"Dan Rooney, the son of Art II, is seemingly the heir apparent. The 36-year-old took a leading role in two recent initiatives: the Dublin game and the draft. Both were slam-dunk successes, proving he has the right business acumen to lead. I'm more intrigued by his football background. While Art II has joked that he's not a defensive coordinator when asked detailed football questions, Dan is a former QB who played at Dartmouth. His football IQ will be an interesting wrinkle once he's the new boss. I have a lot of faith he'll do a great job."
Find Dan Rooney's Dartmouth football bio HERE.
More from the Steelers Depot story:
After a period of time working within the Steelers organization, Dan Rooney detoured to the private sector. But he returned to the family business in recent years, becoming the Vice President of Business Development & Strategy. As mentioned, he has already spearheaded two major projects in that role, both smash successes. He is their point man on all international business, and he led the campaign to bring the draft to Pittsburgh. Beyond that, Dan Rooney was also involved, in some capacity, in the Steelers' surprise head coach search this offseason. While we have no idea of the extent of his involvement, we know that he participated.
As an aside, Dan Rooney isn't the only former Dartmouth quarterback on the Steelers' organizational chart. Cole Marcoux '14, who transitioned from QB to All-Ivy League tight end, is the program's Director of Football Administration.
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2027
vs. UC Davis
2028
at Montana State
vs. Wofford
2031
at UC Davis
vs. Richmond
2032
at Richmond
The lede in a Harvard release about the new opponents:
Harvard Football is set to play four first-time opponents in future seasons, with reigning national champion Montana State, 2025 NCAA quarterfinalist UC Davis, 10-time FCS Playoff participant Wofford, and perennial postseason qualifier Richmond all lined up to face the Crimson.
Impressive. Find the full story on Harvard's website HERE.
Green Alert Take: Dartmouth coach Sammy McCorkle pointed out correctly in a recent BGA Overtime story that the addition of Richmond, Villanova and William & Mary has clearly raised the Patriot League's profile. But for the Ivies to improve the conference seeding come playoff time the rest of the league needs to continue to follow Harvard's lead and build up schedule strength beyond playing just the Patriot League, Northeast Conference teams and the occasional CAA member.
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A friend who was cleaning out his house before a move to the Southwest came for lunch last week bearing gifts. He brought autographed copies of "Doggie Julian's" book, Bread and Butter Basketball, and YA Tittle's book Nothing Comes Easy: My Life in Football. I was sure Doggie, the legendary Dartmouth coach, had actually signed his book because, frankly, there would be no reason for anyone to fake his signature.
But then it occurred to me, if I could find what the late quarterback's autograph looked like, so could someone who wanted to forge his signature.
