Early on in the Kansas City Chiefs search for a new GM last winter owner Clark Hunt referenced the Pittsburgh Steelers as an organization that was doing it right. The Steelers have had three head coaches since the 70s and consistently produce playoff teams and championships.
When Arrowhead Pride interviewed Mr. Hunt at the end of September, we asked him about his admiration for the Steelers.
"First of all," he told us, "I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for the Rooney family, and clearly, the Steelers are one of the model franchises in all of professional sports - as evidenced by their success.
"We want to make decisions that help our football team for the long term, which is something the Rooneys and the Steelers have done extremely well over the years."
Indeed. The Steelers are currently the only NFL team with six championship rings.
The Chiefs head coach, who has a background with the Steelers, was asked if he someday like his team to resemble Pittsburgh.
"That would never be a bad thing," Haley said. "I think for the Steelers this has been a long time in the making. This is something that was established back in the ‘70s and a blueprint they set about for the entire organization."
Haley's father worked for the Steelers for years so many folks, including team president Art Rooney II, remember him. Haley says their organization is set to run so that it's successful year in and year out.
"But having that inside knowledge of a lot of the stuff that was going on," he said, "I know that they set the stage for what they’ve stayed for a long time. They’re consistently in all areas – personnel, how they draft, all areas, they’re very consistent in nature. They don’t panic. If things don’t go real well early they don’t panic; they’ve proven that over the years."