John Mitchell (American football) facts for kids
Mitchell in Pittsburgh's Super Bowl XLIII parade
|
|||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | October 14, 1951 Mobile, Alabama, U.S. |
||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Williamson (Mobile) | ||||||||
| College: | Alabama Eastern Arizona |
||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1973 / Round: 7 / Pick: 174 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| As player: | |||||||||
|
|||||||||
| As coach: | |||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
|
|||||||||
John Mitchell Jr. (born October 14, 1951) is a former American football coach and college player. He is known for breaking several racial barriers in football. Mitchell was the first black player for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He also became the first black assistant coach at Alabama. Later, he was the first black defensive coordinator in the Southeastern Conference.
Mitchell had a coaching career that lasted 50 years. He worked with famous coaches like Bear Bryant and Bill Belichick. His teams won championships in both college and professional football. He retired from the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022 after many years with the team.
Contents
Early Life and Education
John Mitchell was born in Mobile, Alabama, on October 14, 1951. He was one of five children. His father worked for the United States Coast Guard.
High School Football
Mitchell went to Williamson High School in Mobile. This was an all-black school at the time. He played both football and basketball there. As a senior, he played on the offensive line. He was 6 feet 3 inches tall but weighed only 195 pounds. This was considered too light for major college football. Because of his weight, he did not get scholarship offers from big colleges in Alabama. However, he did receive offers from strong historically black colleges. These included Grambling State University and Tennessee State University.
Academic Achievements
Sports were not Mitchell's only focus. He and his classmates placed third in a national science fair. All five students on the science fair team received academic scholarships. These offers came from the University of Alabama and Auburn University. Mitchell had always dreamed of playing football for these schools. But at that time, they were not recruiting black football players. Mitchell really wanted to play "big-time college football."
Junior College Path
Mitchell decided that his best chance to play Division I football was to go to a junior college. He accepted a football scholarship from Eastern Arizona Junior College in Thatcher, Arizona.
Playing Career Highlights
At Eastern Arizona, Mitchell played on both the offensive and defensive lines. He was named a Junior College All-American in both of his years there. He also gained 35 pounds of muscle through the school's weight training program. This was something his high school did not have. Even with the added weight, he stayed fast. He also earned an associate's degree in social work.
Joining the Alabama Crimson Tide
After junior college, many major college programs wanted Mitchell. He first committed to the University of Southern California. But then, University of Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant learned about Mitchell. Bryant aggressively recruited him. Mitchell was a bit worried about how he would be received at Alabama. He also wondered how much he would play. But his family encouraged him to return home. Bryant also promised that his race would not be a problem. Mitchell also thought Alabama's School of Social Work would be a good fit.
In 1971, Mitchell and Wilbur Jackson made history. They became the first African-American players for the Crimson Tide. Mitchell started all 24 games in his two seasons at Alabama. During this time, the team had a great record of 21 wins and 3 losses. They also won two Southeastern Conference championships. In 1972, Mitchell became the first African-American co-captain at Alabama. That same year, he was named an All-American. He was also selected to the All-SEC team in both of his seasons at Alabama. Mitchell earned a bachelor's degree in social welfare early.
NFL Draft and Retirement
The San Francisco 49ers picked Mitchell in the seventh round of the 1973 NFL draft. In college, he mainly played defensive end. But he was considered too small for that role in professional football. The 49ers wanted him to play linebacker. He signed with the 49ers and went to training camp. However, he got sick during camp and was cut from the team before the season started.
After being cut, Mitchell decided to end his playing career. He said, "I had a chance, whatever happened, good or bad, and I figured a guy's got to work someday."
Coaching Career Journey
Mitchell decided to go to law school at Alabama in the fall of 1973. He asked coach Bryant for help finding a campus job. Instead, Bryant offered him a full-time coaching position. Mitchell accepted the offer to coach defensive ends. This meant he became the first African-American assistant coach for the Crimson Tide. He was also the youngest coach ever hired by the school. He played a key role in recruiting top African-American players to Alabama. One player he helped recruit was Ozzie Newsome, who became a Hall of Famer.
Success at Alabama
In Mitchell's first year coaching at Alabama, the team had an 11-1 record. They won the national championship and the SEC championship. For the next two seasons, they also had 11-1 records. They added two more SEC titles and finished in the top five nationally. In 1976, his last year with the team, they had a 9-3 record. They still finished in the top fifteen nationwide. Mitchell helped develop Leroy Cook, a two-time All-American.
Moving to Arkansas
In early 1977, Mitchell became the defensive ends coach at the University of Arkansas. He worked under coach Lou Holtz. In his first season, the team went 11-1. They beat second-ranked Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. Holtz praised Mitchell, calling him "one of the brightest young assistant coaches in the nation."
Mitchell spent six years at Arkansas. The team's record was 54 wins, 16 losses, and 2 ties. They won a Southwest Conference championship. They also played in a bowl game every year. Only once did they finish outside the top 20 in the polls. During his time in Arkansas, Mitchell often played basketball with Bill Clinton. Clinton was a law professor at the school then.
Coaching in the USFL
In 1983, Mitchell left Arkansas to coach in the professional league. He joined the Birmingham Stallions of the new United States Football League (USFL). He coached linebackers for the Stallions for all three years the league existed. In 1985, outside linebacker Herb Spencer made the All-League team. When the team stopped paying coaches in 1986, Mitchell returned to college football. He took a job at Temple University.
Time at Temple University
At Temple, Mitchell coached defensive tackles and defensive ends. He worked under head coach Bruce Arians. Arians later worked with Mitchell on the Steelers coaching staff. Arians called Mitchell "a super football coach and a great person." He noted that the team had many more quarterback sacks that year. Mitchell coached Ralph Jarvis at Temple. Jarvis was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1988.
Return to Louisiana State
After one season at Temple, Mitchell returned to the SEC in 1987. He joined Louisiana State University (LSU) as the outside linebackers coach. After two seasons, Mitchell was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1990. He became the first African-American to hold this position in the SEC.
Mitchell briefly resigned from LSU in March 1990 due to a misunderstanding about some hotel expenses. He was reinstated two months later after an investigation and repayment of the funds. In 1990, the Tigers finished with a 5-6 record. This led to the firing of head coach Mike Archer. Mitchell was offered a chance to stay at LSU. However, he chose to leave a couple of months later to return to professional football.
NFL Coaching Career
Cleveland Browns
After leaving LSU, Mitchell became the defensive line coach for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL) in 1991. He coached for the Browns under head coach Bill Belichick for three seasons. He helped develop players like Michael Dean Perry and Rob Burnett.
Pittsburgh Steelers
In 1994, Mitchell moved to the Pittsburgh Steelers as the defensive line coach. He worked under Bill Cowher. He stayed with the Steelers for a very long time, becoming the team's longest-serving coach. When Mike Tomlin became head coach in 2007, Mitchell became the team's assistant head coach. He also continued to coach the defensive line.
The Steelers were excellent at stopping the run during Mitchell's time. They led the league in run defense four times in his first fifteen years. Several Steelers defensive linemen made the Pro Bowl under Mitchell. These included Casey Hampton, Aaron Smith, Brett Keisel, and Joel Steed. The team also had great success. They made the playoffs many times and reached the AFC Championship Game often. They also played in four Super Bowls, winning championships in 2005 and 2008.
In Super Bowl XL in 2006, the Steelers played the Seattle Seahawks. Mitchell's defensive line had to stop the Seahawks' star running back, Shaun Alexander. They held Alexander to under 100 yards and, most importantly, prevented him from scoring. This was key to the Steelers' win. Mitchell said their goal was to "keep him out of the end zone."
In Super Bowl XLIII in 2009, they faced the Arizona Cardinals. The defensive line again played very well. They held the Cardinals to only 33 rushing yards.
Mitchell coaches in a quiet and thoughtful way. He learned this style from his first head coach, Bear Bryant. He said, "Coach Bryant wasn't a screamer, and I noticed he had some success." He also explained his coaching approach: "I care for my players. They're not only good football players, they're good people. With my guys I don't have to yell. I don't use profanity with them. They're men, and that's how I treat them. I respect them, they respect me."
This style earned Mitchell great respect from other coaches. Clarence Brooks, a rival coach, said Mitchell's players are "always sound techniquewise, always play very hard, look like they're disciplined." Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau had "great confidence in him." Head coach Mike Tomlin called Mitchell a "trailblazer" and a "very respected coach."
Mitchell retired from coaching after the 2022 season. He spent 28 years with the Steelers.
Personal Life and Interests
Mitchell lives with his wife, Joyce, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They do not have children. Mitchell had shown interest in becoming the head football coach at Alabama in the past. However, he was never offered the position.
Outside of football, Mitchell enjoys collecting art, fine wine, and vintage jazz music. He also likes to study history. He was elected to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. Mitchell said about his selection, "I'm from the state of Alabama, and this is big. The state of Alabama is putting me, John Mitchell, a black kid from Mobile, in their sports hall of fame. There's nothing bigger in my life."
