On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced that assistant head coach John Mitchell is retiring. Mitchell has been with the Steelers for 29 seasons.
Here is a summary of Mitchell’s football career straight from the team’s official release.
But from those beginnings, through a combination of hard work, talent, a little luck, and the support of some influential people, John Mitchell was able to live his dream. First as a student and football player at the University of Alabama, then as a college assistant coach with stops at Alabama, Arkansas, and LSU, and then a three-decade career in the NFL, first as an assistant under Bill Belichick in Cleveland and then 29 seasons under Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin with the Steelers.
Mitchell retired today after 50 years as a football coach, a half-century that began with Paul “Bear” Bryant hiring him shortly after he graduated in 1972 and included two Super Bowl rings in four appearances with the Steelers as well as induction into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
Assistant head coach John Mitchell has announced his retirement after 29 seasons with the #Steelers.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) February 15, 2023