Cornerback Ike Taylor spent his entire 12-year NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a part of two Super Bowl-winning teams and had 14 career interceptions and 134 passes defended. He added another three interceptions and knocked down another 11 passes in the playoffs during his career.
Taylor was a staple of the Steelers’ secondary for over a decade. He made a big interception during Super Bowl XL against the Seattle Seahawks that convinced then-general manager Kevin Colbert that it was the Steelers’ night to win the game.
But Taylor credits the impact of training camp and a specific encounter with former assistant head coach/defensive line coach John Mitchell for his development.
“I remember Coach Mitch. He used to be mad at me if I let somebody catch a pass on me at practice,” Taylor said on Monday’s episode of the Bleav In Steelers podcast. “I’m like, ‘dang Coach Mitch, he just caught a pass.’ Coach Mitch said I’m looking at you differently. I’m looking at you as being a lockdown corner. You can’t even see it in yourself. I’m looking at your mindset. I’m looking at your athletic ability. You should want nobody to catch a pass on you.
“And once he sat down and told me that, I said, dang, Coach Mitch…He’s a pioneer coming from Bear Bryant. He been watching. He forgot more football than I ever knew. So once he told me that, I said you know what, this is what I’m doing.”
Mitchell coached in Pittsburgh under Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin for 29 years before retiring in 2023. Although he spent most of his time around the defensive line, he impacted Taylor in the secondary. It was all about Taylor’s mindset, not his technique.
Mitchell wanted Taylor to approach every rep, whether training camp, practice, or on gameday, the same way. No receiver should be catching a pass with Ike Taylor in coverage. Is that going to happen? Absolutely not. One such play that stuck in Taylor’s mind was the overtime touchdown by Denver Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas in a playoff game back in 2011.
However, Mitchell’s talk did keep Taylor focused. Having the approach that no one should ever catch a pass while being covered by you means you aren’t mentally turning off on any given play. That’s how mistakes are made.
Wide receivers will make plays. It’s inevitable. What shouldn’t happen as a corner is mental blunders. That’s at the heart of the advice John Mitchell had for Ike Taylor.
And it’s why Taylor can talk smack to former Cincinnati Bengals WR Chad ‘Ochocinco’ Johnson. With Taylor as a starting corner and Johnson on the Bengals, Johnson only caught one touchdown and never eclipsed 100 yards receiving in a game. That’s an incredible stat for Taylor. And it’s in part due to Mitchell calling him out about a single catch on the practice field.
