It wasn't so much that Mitchell didn't like rookies. He liked them enough to push the Steelers to draft or sign those players. But he was demanding. He expected his guys to play a certain way.
"That was just it, he would break you down and then build you back up to play the way he wanted you to play," said Hoke. "He had his way of doing things, but it worked. It was rough when you were young, because anytime you saw him, it didn't matter if you were at lunch or breakfast, anytime you saw him, he would be breaking down a play, 'Hokie, you have to do this when that happens.' There was no time off from it. Then, when you got older and he trusted you, it was more relaxed."
Mitchell had a drill-sergeant-like way of delivering his message to them. But behind the gruff way the message was delivered was a cultured man who enjoys art and wine.
Smith wound up playing under Mitchell for 13 years. And often, when a new young player would join the team, Mitchell would use Smith and his technique as a teaching tool. Do things the way Aaron does, and you'll be successful.
But to Smith, it was all about the original messenger.
"You try to tell rookies this because you went through it yourself, you try to tell them because you see him unraveling them, 'Guys, just listen to him.' It's not about how he delivers the message, but if you listen to what he's actually telling you, you will get better," Smith said. "And then once you know him, you see how big his heart is and how much he cares. His roughness and how he is, gets taken out of context, like when I was a rookie. You just don't really know anything."
Smith is now a coach himself. After he retired after the 2011 season, he was an assistant football and basketball coach at North Allegheny. This season, he's the head boys basketball coach at Eden Christian in suburban Pittsburgh.
He channels Mitchell in his coaching.
"'I'm not saying I'm Mitch. I'm not at that level. But there are a lot of things I look at the same as he taught me," Smith said. "When I was in my first rookie camp, I'm sitting in the back because you kind of want to hide. Mitch comes in and he says, 'Where's 91?' He sees me and he says, 'What are you doing sitting in the back? You'd better sit in front.' I'll tell you, for 13 years I sat in the front of every meeting. I'm 13 years in the league and I'm still sitting in the front of every camp meeting, every meeting I could possibly sit in the front in. I still do.
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5 for Friday: Mitchell made a lasting impact - Steelers.com
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