Joe Gibbs Reflects On The Life and Legacy of Bobby Mitchell

Three-time Super Bowl winning Coach Joe Jackson Gibbs joined The Team 980/95.9FM’s The Brian Mitchell Show w/ Scott Linn Monday to honor the late, great Bobby Mitchell. Mitchell, who was the first African-American player to play for the Washington Football Team after being traded away from the Cleveland Browns in 1962, passed away Sunday at the age 84.

“When I think about Bobby Mitchell and being such a great player in the NFL, and he went before all of us and those guys that built the league and built the NFL, and then we come in and get to benefit of that,” Gibbs said.  “So I always think about those guys and what they went through originally, playing in the league, then of course, the time he was with the Washington Football Team there, he was so supportive of everything I did there. He was part of the team and part of the family there with the Washington Football Team when we were all doing good things, so I know all of us will miss him.”

Gibbs also praised Mitchell for the impact he had on the players as a mentor during his time as assistant general manager of the team.

“I think he was certainly a big part of the organization there. I think all of the younger players that came in there, they always knew his door was open,” Gibbs said of Mitchell. “And there’s a lot going on when you first get to an NFL team. You’re worried about your coaches, the relationship you have with them, the front office, all the things that you go through there. It’s a big transition when you go from college [to the NFL]. I think Bobby was one of those people that was so supportive. All the players knew that they could go to him to get advice. Bobby had been through everything. He’d seen so much, he knew the NFL and had lived it. I think he was a great comfort to the players.”

Gibbs raved about Mitchell’s on-field success, but loved the human he was off the field even more.

RELATED:

• Remembering a Legend: Bobby Mitchell
• Doug Williams On The Impact Bobby Mitchell Had On His Career
• Al Galdi on Bobby Mitchell’s Legacy As A Pioneer For The Washington Football Team

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Joe Gibbs Reflects On The Life and Legacy of Bobby Mitchell  was originally published on theteam980.com