Wednesday, Pittsburgh Steelers’ longtime coach John Mitchell officially announced his retirement. Solely the team’s assistant head coach since 2018, he previously served as the franchise’s defensive line coach since 1994. An old-school type, Mitchell taught technique but was also known for preaching fanatical effort and demanded his defensive linemen to run to the football. That was passed down from player to player over the years.
In honor of his retirement, here’s a handful of my favorite effort plays by Steelers’ defensive linemen over the years, all stemming from Mitchell’s teachings.
The first one is old-school. Super Bowl XL against the Seattle Seahawks.