On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced that after 29 years with the team, defensive line coach and assistant head coach John Mitchell is retiring. Mitchell was groundbreaking as a player and coach and was beloved by the team. Here are three big takeaways.
Mitchell's place in Steelers history
By all accounts, Mitchell was the best position coach in franchise history. He was the architect of some of the front lines of some of the best defenses in NFL history and turned players like Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel into icons.
Replacing Mitchell should be external
I’m sure this is wishful thinking and the next defensive line coach will be an internal hire but how great would it be if the team actually reached out and brought in a young talented assistant to groom and develop but instead it will be some sort of retread from within the franchise.
Who becomes the assistant head coach?
The next question will be who gets the title of the assistant head coach? The top options are either Teryl Austin who is the DC or offensive coordinator Matt Canada. But as we’ve said, this is a perfect spot to lure in a bigtime coordinator with aspirations to be a head coach.
