As we have done for several years to bide our time during the offseason, we’re looking back on Pittsburgh Steelers you may have forgotten… or not remembered in the first place. Our “blast from the past” series, with a new, dumb name, highlighting players who have long hung up their cleats.
If you have a player you’d like to see profiled, leave it in the comments below.
Mike Jones/LB Missouri (2001-2002)
Jones will always and forever be remembered for one play and one play only, a moment that didn’t occur in a Pittsburgh Steelers’ uniform. Forgotten in Pittsburgh, he’s revered in St. Louis for tackling Tennessee Titans WR Kevin Dyson one yard short of the end zone to hang on and win Super Bowl XXXIV. That moment was named the third-greatest in Super Bowl history and it helped put guys like Kurt Warner and Isaac Bruce in the Hall of Fame.
Two years after that amazing moment, Jones found himself in Pittsburgh, signed by Kevin Colbert to help replace Levon Kirkland at a far cheaper price tag, using that money elsewhere as summed up in this 2002 ESPN The Magazine Article.
“The team filled Kirkland’s spot by shifting sixth-year player Earl Holmes ($1.94M cap hit) inside and signing bargain free agent linebacker Mike Jones ($1M) from the Rams to take his spot. This is the essence of caponomics: The Steelers replaced Kirkland for roughly half the cap cost and used the savings to finance their deals with Bettis and Hartings.”
The team also drafted Kendrell Bell, who briefly shined brightly before injuries derailed his career, but that’s a story for a different day. But because Bell played so well out of the gate, named the 2001 Rookie of the Year, and Holmes was the veteran and established Steeler, Jones didn’t have much of a role. He never officially started a game in 2001, his first season as a backup since 1994, and he finished the year with just 24 tackles.
His most notable moment that year came on the opening kickoff in the team’s Week 16 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, a heart-breaking loss. Jones forced a fumble on WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh that popped into safety Mike Logan’s hands and was returned to the 24, though the Steelers ended the drive with an uninspiring punt. Jones is #51 here.
Jones didn’t make it to the 2002 training camp, cut by the team in early June. He returned to his first NFL team, the Raiders, appearing in three games across Weeks 6-8. Jones returned to Pittsburgh in November after James Farrior suffered a knee injury. He made his first and only start in the 2002 regular-season finale against Baltimore, racking up eight tackles in a 34-31 win.
He didn’t record any stats in the team’s two playoff games, a comeback win over the Cleveland Browns and a Joe-Nedney flop of a loss to the Tennessee Titans the following week.
Jones didn’t play in the NFL after that. A Missouri native, he went home and got into coaching, leading Hazelwood East High School to a state title in 2008. He moved up into college coaching with stops at Southern and Lincoln University. Jones moved back to the high school ranks, spending five years as the head coach at St. Louis University High School but was fired ahead of the 2022 season. His career record was only 18-28 but he went 7-4 in his final season, leading his team on a playoff run. Players were shocked and saddened to hear he was being let go.
“I am going to miss Coach Jones,” said one player. “Obviously he’s a legend here in St. Louis. He did a lot for the Rams. But he was just a good guy all around. He always got us hyped up for the games, and he always got really good eighth graders to come to SLUH, because they wanted to play for him.”
Mike Jones, your blast from the past.
