Though standing 6 feet 3 inches (191 cm), he weighed just 195 pounds (88 kg), which major colleges considered too light for the position.

[5] His lack of size explains why he was not offered a football scholarship out of high school by any major colleges in his home state.

[8][9] Although Mitchell originally was a bit nervous about the reception he would receive at Alabama, as well as the amount of playing time he could garner, his family encouraged him to return home and accept Bryant's scholarship offer.

[10][11] Besides his family's encouragement and Bryant's assurances that his race would not be a problem,[6] Mitchell's opinion that Alabama's School of Social Work was an easy route was a big factor in his decision.

[12] He started all 24 games in his two seasons at Alabama, during which time the team compiled a 21–3 record and won two Southeastern Conference championships.

[14] Although he played primarily defensive end in college, he was once again considered undersized to fill that role in the pro game; the 49ers wanted to make him a linebacker.

[15] Upon being cut by the 49ers, Mitchell chose to close the book on this playing career even though he may have been able to pursue an opportunity in the fledgling World Football League, saying, "I had a chance, whatever happened, good or bad, and I figured a guy's got to work someday.

[20] In early 1977, Mitchell accepted a position coaching defensive ends at the University of Arkansas under Lou Holtz, after deciding the move was "at least horizontal".

[16][21] Following his first season with the Razorbacks in which the team went 11–1 and beat second-ranked Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, Holtz gushed, John Mitchell is without a doubt one of the brightest young assistant coaches in the nation.

[22] Among the defensive linemen who came through the Arkansas program during Mitchell's tenure were future Pro Football Hall of Fame member Dan Hampton and Ron Faurot an All-American who was drafted in the second round and played two seasons in the NFL.

[24] When the team quit paying its coaches on New Year's Day in 1986, Mitchell returned to the college ranks, taking at a job at Temple University.

"[26] At Temple, Mitchell coached Ralph Jarvis whom the Chicago Bears chose in the third round of the 1988 NFL draft.

[27] After a single season at Temple, Mitchell returned to the SEC in 1987 at Louisiana State University (LSU) where he served as outside linebackers coach[28] under Mike Archer.

[3] After two seasons coaching linebackers Mitchell was promoted to defensive coordinator in early 1990 succeeding Pete Jenkins[29] and becoming the first African-American to serve in that capacity in the SEC.

[12] Mitchell resigned his position at LSU in March 1990 due to improper accounting of some hotel expenses over the previous two years.

[33] After leaving LSU, Mitchell was hired as defensive line coach of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) in 1991.

[34] He coached for the Browns under head coach Bill Belichick for three seasons, helping to develop Michael Dean Perry (who twice made the Pro Bowl in Mitchell's three seasons with the team)[35][36] and Rob Burnett (who made his only Pro Bowl in Mitchell's final year with the club).

In 1994, he moved on to become the defensive line coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers under Bill Cowher, replacing Steve Furness.

[44] In Super Bowl XL in February 2006, the Steelers faced a tough test in slowing Seattle Seahawks All-Pro running back Shaun Alexander who ran for 1,880 yards and scored an NFL record 28 touchdowns in the regular season behind an offensive line that featured All-Pro linemen Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson[45] on the left side.

The defensive line would need to slow down the Seahawks running attack to keep the Steelers in the game, a challenge which Mitchell took personally.

[49] Mitchell had expressed interest in becoming the head football coach at Alabama when that position had been open in the past.

[12][49] Away from football, Mitchell's avocations include collecting art, fine wine and vintage jazz as well as studying history.

The state of Alabama is putting me, John Mitchell, a black kid from Mobile, in their sports hall of fame.