After 50-Plus Years in Football, John Mitchell's Legacy Immeasurable: All Things CW

Roughly five decades later, the first Black player, first Black All-American, first Black captain and first first Black assistant coach at Alabama has retired from the game he forever changed.

The All Things CW notes column by Christopher Walsh appears in five parts each week, with the latest on the Alabama Crimson Tide. This is ...

Take 4

Wednesday marked the end of an era. Not just for the Alabama Crimson Tide, but football as a whole. 

John Mitchell announced his retirement after 50 years as a coach, including 29 with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It marked the end of the football journey for the man who was the first Black athlete to play football for the Crimson Tide. The program's first Black All-American, and Black team captain was also, fittingly, Alabama's first Black assistant coach, all under Paul W. "Bear" Bryant.

"I wanted to go to graduate school, law school, and I called Coach Bryant," Mitchell told the Steelers' website. "I told him I wanted to go to graduate school, but since I didn't have the money, I wanted to talk to him about getting a job around the athletic department, anything I could do to earn money and go to school. He told me to come see him.

"I can remember it like it was yesterday. Coach Bryant had a nice big office. He was at his desk with his glasses on his nose, and he never looked at me. He said, if I offer you a full-time job on my staff, would you take it? I'm 20 years old, I just got through playing for him six months ago. I'm standing there, he's not looking at me, and he says again, if I offer you this full-time job will you take it? I said, yes sir. He groomed me to be a football coach."

That was the second time Bryant significantly changed Mitchell's life, the first obviously being when he was offered a scholarship as a transfer. At the time, he was getting ready to go play at USC when the coach stepped in.  

"A white person wouldn't have any reason to come (to my neighborhood) unless they were looking for someone to do some work for them, cut the grass, things like that," Mitchell said. "But they came to my house. I visited with them and a week later I took an official visit to Alabama, met Coach Bryant, when it was my mom, my dad and myself."

Mitchell had grown up in Mobile dreaming of playing for the Crimson Tide, but instead ended up being a two-time Junior College All-American at Eastern Arizona Junior College. The attraction of playing close to home, so that his family would be able to see the games, was too big to pass up. 

"The thing that eased my mind, and I can remember it like yesterday, is we sat in Coach Bryant's office and he (told my parents) if your son comes here, he's going to have some problems," he said. "The only thing I ask of him is if he does have a problem, come see me first. That is all I want. I want him to see me first. I will handle it. When I was there, I never had a problem."

His college coaching career included stops at Arkansas, and LSU, where in 1990 he became  the first Black defensive coordinator in Southeastern Conference history. Plus from 1983-85 he was the linebackers coach of the Birmingham Stallions in the USFL.  

Then it was on to the National Football League, first as an assistant under Bill Belichick in Cleveland — yes, he and Nick Saban were on the same coaching staff from 1991-93 — and then under Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin with the Steelers.

"I'm grateful to the Rooney family for the wonderful opportunity to coach and work for the Steelers for nearly 30 years," Mitchell told the Steelers' website. "It was truly an honor. I'd also like to thank Coach Tomlin for giving me the opportunity to stay with the franchise when Coach Cowher retired. I will treasure my time in Pittsburgh and appreciate everyone affiliated with the organization."

Mitchell started as the team's defensive line coach, then served as assistant head coach/defensive line coach and promoted to assistant head coach in 2018. During that time he earned two Super Bowl rings in four appearances.

"I'm not sure that I can offer sufficient praise and admiration for Mitch – as both a man and football coach," Tomlin said. "Mitch has been a central figure in the success of the Pittsburgh Steelers for nearly three decades. He has coached some of the best players in this franchise's illustrious history, and each one of them, to a man, would tell you their success was a direct result of not only Mitch's coaching acumen, but also his mentorship, leadership and character.

"Those traits were most evident when he chose to attend the University of Alabama. Mitch's path not only changed his life, but the lives of so many others. It's impossible to truly measure his impact on the game, but I'm eternally grateful for the 16 years we worked together and wish him and (his wife) Joyce the absolute best in retirement."

"Coach Mitch has been a pivotal member of the Steelers organization, in a variety of roles, for the better part of 30 years," Steelers President Art Rooney II said. "When you consider his path, as both a player and coach, Mitch created opportunities in football for young Black men that quite honestly didn't previously exist. He has left an imprint on this franchise, and the sport and culture of football, that will continue well beyond his retirement."

Mitchell was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. At the time, he was quoted as saying: "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.

Last year, Alabama honored Mitchell and Wilbur Jackson with a plaque at the end of the Walk of Champions at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The special dedication was held on A-Day, 50 years after he graduated.

"Everything I do as a coach came from Coach Bryant," Mitchell said. "Everything. When I was on his staff, I had the chance to ask him a lot of questions that as a player you wouldn't ask. He taught me how to become a coach. My players I coached here know because I talked to them about him." 

Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

See Also:

Take 1: With Alabama Basketball No. 1, Nate Oats Should Lean on Nick Saban Even More

Take 2: Alabama Basketball Doesn't Have to Look Far For Motivation

Take 3: 2023 Will Be the Year of Scapegoat Coordinators in SEC