John Mitchell

When I wonder how good a coach a guy is, I watch his players, watch how they play, watch how they respond to adversity, watch what they do, watch how they play techniquewise. And forever his guys are always sound techniquewise, always play very hard, look like they’re disciplined in drills.

In Mitchell's first year of coaching at Alabama, the team compiled an 11–1 record and won the national championship in addition to the SEC championship. Over each of the next two seasons, they matched that 11–1 record, added two more SEC titles and finished inside the top-five in the polls. In 1976, which would be Mitchell's last with the team, they fell off a bit with a 9–3 record, but they still remained in the top-fifteen nationwide. Mitchell helped develop Leroy Cook who was a two-time All-America selection drafted in the 10th round of the 1976 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys and selected as one of two defensive ends on the All-time Alabama team named by Sports Illustrated in 2006.

In the course of the six years Mitchell would spend at Arkansas, the team compiled a record of 54–16–2, won a Southwest Conference championship, played in a bowl game each year and failed to finish in the top-20 in the polls only once. Among the defensive linemen who came through the Arkansas program during Mitchell's tenure were future Pro Football Hall of Fame member Dan Hampton and Ron Faurot an All-American who was drafted in the second round and played two seasons in the NFL. During his time in Arkansas, Mitchell regularly participated in pick-up basketball games with Bill Clinton, who was at the time a law professor at the school.

With Mitchell leading the defense, the Tigers finished a disappointing 5–6 in 1990 (including 2–5 in the SEC) leading to the firing of head coach Archer following the season. Mitchell was offered a chance to return to his post coaching outside linebackers by Archer's replacement, Curley Hallman, with whom Mitchell had coached at Alabama. However, Mitchell chose to leave LSU a couple of months later to return to the professional ranks.

Away from football, Mitchell's avocations include collecting art, fine wine and vintage jazz as well as studying history. He has stated that he plans to retire around 2012 to 2013, at which time he will return to Birmingham, Alabama. He was elected to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame with the class of 2009. Mitchell said of 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."

In Super Bowl XLIII in 2009, they again faced a formidable offense in the Arizona Cardinals. The defensive line once again came through with a great performance, holding the Cardinals to just 33 yards on the ground.

The Steelers led the league in stopping the run four times in the first fifteen years of Mitchell's tenure (through 2008). Steelers defensive linemen have participated in the Pro Bowl eight times since Mitchell's arrival: Casey Hampton (five Pro Bowls), Aaron Smith (once), Brett Keisel (once) and Joel Steed (once). The team as a whole has also had tremendous success during Mitchell's tenure, making the playoff eleven times and reaching the AFC Championship Game eight times in his first 18 years. They've also made it to four Super Bowls, winning the championship in 2005 and again in 2008.

In Super Bowl XL in February 2006, the Steelers faced a tough test in slowing Seattle Seahawks All-Pro running back Shaun Alexander who ran for 1,880 yards and scored an NFL record 28 touchdowns in the regular season behind an offensive line that featured All-Pro linemen Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson on the left side. The defensive line would need to slow down the Seahawks running attack to keep the Steelers in the game, a challenge which Mitchell took personally. The players came through holding Alexander under the 100-yard plateau and most importantly preventing him from scoring, which was crucial to a Steelers win. After the game, Mitchell said of the strategy, "Our thing was 'keep him out of the end zone.' We didn't care if he got 300 yards; don't let him in the end zone."

In 1994, he moved on to become the defensive line coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers under Bill Cowher, replacing Steve Furness. He's been with the Steelers ever since, making him the club's longest tenured coach, and one of the longest serving coaches with his current team in the NFL. With the arrival of Mike Tomlin in 2007, Mitchell replaced Russ Grimm as the team's assistant head coach while retaining his responsibilities in coaching the defensive line.

After leaving LSU, Mitchell was hired as defensive line coach of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) in 1991. He coached for the Browns under head coach Bill Belichick for three seasons, helping to develop Michael Dean Perry (who twice made the Pro Bowl in Mitchell's three seasons with the team) and Rob Burnett (who made his only Pro Bowl in Mitchell's final year with the club).

Mitchell resigned his position at LSU in March 1990 due to improper accounting of some hotel expenses over the previous two years. He was reinstated two months later following an investigation and repayment of the disputed funds.

At Temple Mitchell coached defensive tackles and defensive ends under head coach Bruce Arians, with whom he would later work on the Steelers coaching staff. Arians called Mitchell "a super football coach and a great person", adding "I think we had more quarterback sacks this year in our third game than we had all last year." At Temple, Mitchell coached Ralph Jarvis whom the Chicago Bears chose in the third round of the 1988 NFL Draft.

After a single season at Temple, Mitchell returned to the SEC in 1987 at Louisiana State University (LSU) where he served as outside linebackers coach under Mike Archer. After two seasons coaching linebackers Mitchell was promoted to defensive coordinator in early 1990 succeeding Pete Jenkins and becoming the first African-American to serve in that capacity in the SEC.

Mitchell left Arkansas in 1983 to pursue an opportunity to coach at the professional level in his home state with the Birmingham Stallions of the newly created United States Football League (USFL). He coached linebackers for the Stallions for the team's (and league's) entire three-year existence. In 1985, outside linebacker Herb Spencer made the All-League team. When the team quit paying its coaches on New Year's Day in 1986, Mitchell returned to the college ranks, taking at a job at Temple University.

In early 1977, Mitchell accepted a position coaching defensive ends at the University of Arkansas under Lou Holtz, after deciding the move was "at least horizontal". Following his first season with the Razorbacks in which the team went 11–1 and beat second-ranked Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, Holtz gushed,

The San Francisco 49ers selected Mitchell in the seventh round of the 1973 NFL Draft. Although he played primarily defensive end in college, he was once again considered undersized to fill that role in the pro game; the 49ers wanted to make him a linebacker. He signed a contract with the 49ers and attended training camp, but after being slowed in camp by an illness he was cut by the team prior to the season.

Mitchell decided to return to Alabama to attend law school in the fall of 1973. When he asked coach Bryant for help in finding a campus job to make ends meet while he worked on his graduate degree, Bryant instead offered him a full-time coaching position. In giving up his law school plans to accept the offer to coach defensive ends, Mitchell became the first African-American assistant coach for the Crimson Tide. He was also the youngest coach to have been hired by the school. In addition to coaching, he was instrumental in the recruiting of top African-American players to play football at Alabama. One player whom Mitchell helped recruit was Ozzie Newsome, who went on to have a Hall of Fame career.

In 1971 Mitchell, along with Wilbur Jackson, became the first African-American to play football for the Crimson Tide. He started all 24 games in his two seasons at Alabama, during which time the team compiled a 21–3 record and won two Southeastern Conference championships. In 1972, Mitchell became the first African-American to be named a co-captain at Alabama. The same year he was named an All-American by the American Football Coaches Association. He was selected to the All-SEC team in each of his two seasons at Alabama. Mitchell earned a B.S. in social welfare, completing his degree requirements a semester early.

John Mitchell, Jr. (born October 14, 1951) is an American football coach and former collegiate player. Over the course of his career, Mitchell has broken several racial barriers, one of which was being the first black player for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Currently, he is the assistant head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL).

Mitchell was born in Mobile, Alabama on October 14, 1951; the third of five children of Helen and John Mitchell, Sr. His father worked as a civil engineer for the United States Coast Guard.