Joel Steed: “Coach Mitchell – he was just incredible. He should be up for a head coaching job. He really understood the pressure. The moment of now.”
Casey Hampton: “Coach Mitchell treated everyone the same at first. He was a great coach. Once you proved yourself he’d treat you a certain way then. He treated everyone differently and was very tough, but he was always fair.”
Aaron Smith: “It’s funny. As a rookie I hated Mitch. I couldn’t stand him. I thought he despised me and I despised him. Then the next year the Steelers drafted another defensive lineman and I saw how hard he was on him. I realized then it wasn’t about me.
I know now he’s a wonderful man. As a rookie you don’t know or see him for who he is. He sees in you what you don’t see in yourself. You think he’s just picking on you. But as a rookie you don’t know what you don’t know.
We laugh about it now. I thought he hated me and I hated him. But now, there’s no greater person. He’s tough and old school – and that’s why I like him and find myself coaching just like him. I find myself saying the same things, trying to be like him.”
Cam Heyward: “My first two years were rough! I wasn’t sure he even wanted me – I was like, “Why did you draft me?” I remember the first time I met him, this was after the lockout so we didn’t have OTAs or camp – so I was meeting everyone for the first time in the meeting room.
He said that he didn’t need me and the other young guys to be playmakers. They had 99, 98, and 91. I thought, “Oh shoot – really?” He said we’d have to make the team on special teams. I wasn’t going to be starting any time soon. It was humbling. When you hear that, it can be crushing to your ego. But it made me work harder,
But I always appreciated him. And the things he said then resonate more with me now and motivate me now even more.”
Tyson Alualu: “I love Coach Mitch. He was the first coach I met with when I took the visit to Pittsburgh. His knowledge of the game – I know it’s tough love – but you just knew he had your back. You always knew what you were going to get with him – day in and day out. You never wanted to let him down.”
Chris Hoke: ” Mitchell in his press conference after drafting Ta’amu, he said he didn’t care what he’s done – he was going to teach him the Steeler way.
He takes young guys with or without a pedigree and starts from scratch. He teaches them technique – leverage, using your hands well and to hustle. In college you may rush upfield and that’s it. That’s not the way in Pittsburgh – there’s a specific way of doing things.”
Brett Keisel: “Mitch was very tough on young guys. Coming from the outside in, it’s hard to understand. It didn’t seem like he let up even when you did something right – he’d still correct something you did. As a young guy it’s tough. Coming from a college atmosphere where mostly what you hear is positive things all the time, it’s tough. He was hard, but rightfully so.
Mitch was the first black player to play at Alabama and had a hard-nosed football life. He wanted players who wouldn’t buckle under pressure in the fourth quarter. He wanted to see if you could handle the pressure and not buckle under it. If you buckled he would say he couldn’t count on you. But if you tried and showed him respect, and if you just kept showing up and did anything to get his respect, he loved guys like that.”
Steve McLendon: “In Pittsburgh – Johnny Mitchell – he was one of the most influential people in my life. He was always honest with me – extremely tough but fair. He would break you down so he could build you back up again to be a better player and a better man. He would tell me that no one was here to hurt you, but I needed to get to the point that I didn’t have to think about what to do next. And that would be true in life as well as on the field. If you don’t have to stop and think about what to do next – if you continue to do the right thing over and over – it’s easier to do the right thing afterwards because you’re not stopping to think about it. As a young guy it was hard to deal with. But as I got older I saw that he wasn’t just hard on me, he was hard on every young guy coming in. He said it’s not just about being physically strong and tough – you have to be mentally tough. If you’re not you get mentally fatigued and that’s when you get beat.”
Hebron Fangupo: “John Mitchell – there was a method to his madness. He was always mad. But I learned a lot from him. How to get players to match a coach’s personality – the toughness that he expected. You knew he meant business. But man, if you give the guy a glass of wine, he’ll sing for you.”
There were times when I wondered why John Mitchell was so mean. But now with my own group of players, when I’m preparing playbooks and take the time to write down my philosophies and they’re not studied – that’s really frustrating. Now I know why he would get so mad.”
Grant Bowman: “Mitch was a good guy though. I got married before the second camp and didn’t think anyone knew. Well he told me on day I needed to stay later after practice. I thought “Is he cutting me?” Well, he ended up giving me a wedding gift – a silver bowl that we still use! I didn’t even know anyone knew I had gotten married.
He was a character too. He loved to talk about wine. After practice he’d talk about wanting to go home and have a bottle of wine with his wife – he had a collection of corks he kept. After Hurricane Katrina – he was from New Orleans – he gave us all a 20-minute lecture on how the levees worked.”
Lavon Hooks: “Coach Mitchell would say more detail. Execute each play. Whether it’s containment or zone plays away from me, follow the assignment the way it’s written up.”
Scott Paxson: “The 3-4 was an adjustment and it took some time learning it. As a defensive lineman, it’s a whole different stance and way of taking off the ball. I did have the best coach. I learned under Coach John Mitchell. That man I owe so much too. He ripped me apart and built me up. He is a straight shooter and looked me In the eyes and told me what it would take to make the team or practice team. I took his advice and during all camps I would sit up front of the special teams meeting room because if you’re and an undrafted free agent you better be playing special teams!”
Ryan McBean: “I learned so much from Coach John Mitchell, that the game was a business, and it about producing and picking the right people to accomplish your goals. His approach I have taken with me to every team and this business.
My employees are my team, and we have to give great service everyday, that sense of urgency that Coach John Mitchell instilled in me, I practice at Right at Home and on the field.“
Nick Eason: “Defensive Line Coach John Mitchell taught the simple things – technique, and unselfish play. I never wanted to let those guys down – I knew I had to be on my gaps like they were.”
Oliver Gibson: “Coach Mitchell is arguably the best defensive line coach in the NFL. The proof is in his tenure – what, nineteen years? I learned how to play defensive line in the 3-4 due to John Mitchell. I’d ultimately like to be a defensive coordinator in the NFL.
No one outworks John Mitchell. The perseverance in his career…..he was one of the first Black players at Alabama. His work ethic and attention to detail are amazing.”
Rodney Bailey: “Coach Mitchell. He was a big inspiration for me – still is. He worked me very hard because he was potential. He told me I needed to grow up fast – that this wasn’t college. And he was right.”
Al Woods: “He was tough but cool. He’d mess with your head so that everything was easier on Sundays. The things he taught I still apply to this day. It was always the simple and small things he said – the way he said them. “Don’t let anyone outwork you”, or “Don’t let anyone take food off of your children’s table.” Things like that.”
Ziggy Hood: “For the first two years he rode me hard. He had Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel. I don’t think he wanted to coach a guy from scratch all over again. He liked to critique the older guys but he didn’t want to deal with a hotshot first round pick. Now, he had to get back to coaching. After my first two years it got better. He opened up and got softer. At the end it all worked out. He taught me how to play with my hands more. To use my hands like a stab motion. The 3-4 is a man’s game. It’s one-on-one and talking on double-teams that you didn’t see coming. Especially with that defense under LeBeau, that was a man’s defense. You’re not just jetting upfield. You’re trying to move guys against their will – hands in their chest trying to drive 320 pound men where they don’t want to go.”
Nolan Harrison: “What convinced me to come was when Coach Mitchell showed me the film of nose tackle Joel Steed destroying various offensive lines. I knew that I wanted to play next to that guy!”
Chris Combs: “Our Defensive Line coach in Pittsburgh John Mitchell used to watch film with me after practice during the season and that wasn’t something he had to do but he was willing to.”
Shaun Nua: “I will always remember coach Mitchell’s emphasis on intelligence. You have to be a smart football player to play for coach Mitchell. I always believe that Mitchell would prefer smart players over just athletic ones. He always told us that there are a lot of athletic guys on the street because they weren’t smart enough to play this game. I believe this and I always go back to this philosophy while coaching our defensive line or our scout teams.”
Rameel Connor: “Coach Mitchell is very knowledgeable and was a skilled instructor and motivator.”
Brian Arnfelt: “I played for John Mitchell and he was a great coach. It didn’t get any better than that.”
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
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