Dan Rooney is an NFL legend, but his real legacy goes far beyond football

Dan Rooney ran the Pittsburgh Steelers as team president back in the 1970s, when they won four Super Bowls in six years. He was team chairman when the Steelers surged back to modern prominence, with Super Bowl wins in 2006 and 2009. He was already an NFL legend by that point, having been voted into the Hall of Fame in 2000.

But when Rooney passed away Thursday at age 84, the football owner and executive left a legacy that goes much deeper than wins and losses, one that even surpasses the glory of Super Bowl trophies. Ever heard of the "Rooney Rule"? Yeah, that's named for him.

Rooney's death was reported Thursday, although further details of his passing were not immediately disclosed. He began managing the Steelers in 1969, helping guide the team to iconic status among NFL franchises. News of his death immediately became a top trending topic on Twitter.

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Rooney's legacy goes beyond football

In 2003, the NFL established what's called "the Rooney Rule," stipulating that franchises must interview at least one minority candidate when seeking to fill head coaching and senior front-office positions. The rule was born out of a diversity committee helmed by Rooney -- hence the name.

The "Rooney Rule" has since become shorthand for similar policies in fields beyond the world of pro football. It's now considered, as The Undefeated reported last year, "a blueprint for corporate America to improve its poor hiring record when it comes to diversity. Facebook, Pinterest, Intel, Xerox and Amazon are among the major companies that have instituted their own version of the rule. Even the Pentagon has explored using some form of the rule to diversify its officer corps."

A rule meant to increase diversity but named for a white man might seem problematic to some in 2017, but the NFL to that point had an abysmal record. When Art Shell was hired to coach the Los Angeles Raiders in 1989, he became the league's first black head coach since the 1920s.

Certainly, the Rooney Rule isn't perfect. It's not a panacea.

But it still represents an important step for progress in the American workplace -- and it's the reason many fans of social good, not just good football, will raise one for Dan Rooney on Thursday night.