denverdan Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5778-2004Dec16.htmlMitchell Set to Sign, Retire With Redskins By Leonard Shapiro Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, December 17, 2004; Page D05 The Washington Redskins have agreed to allow Brian Mitchell, the NFL's career leader in punt and kickoff return yards, to retire with the team despite an acrimonious departure following the 1999 season when he was released with three years remaining on his contract. Mitchell played 10 seasons for the Redskins, then spent three more seasons with Philadelphia and last year with the New York Giants. He recently spoke with owner Daniel Snyder about signing a one-day contract with the Redskins and immediately retiring, a common practice around the NFL. Team spokesman Karl Swanson said yesterday that Snyder had approved the request from one of the franchise's most popular players, but because of salary cap technicalities, it probably won't happen until after the season has ended. "If that's the way Brian wants it, we're happy to do it," Swanson said. "Dan is all for it." Mitchell, 36, and a 14-year NFL veteran, had hoped to play in 2004, though once the Giants announced the hiring of new head coach Tom Coughlin, he knew it wouldn't be in New York. Mitchell said he first met Coughlin, then the Jacksonville coach, when he became a free agent in 1996. "I made it known to [Coughlin] back then that I didn't think I could deal with his way of doing things," Mitchell said in an interview. "And if he didn't like my stuff then, he sure wasn't going to like me now." He said he has had a number of inquiries from teams, several telling him to stay in shape in case they needed him. But so far there have been no calls and Mitchell said he has basically come to terms with the end of his football career. He has done some TV work as a Redskins analyst at Comcast Cable this fall, and also has an interest in a local bio-tech business. Still, he said he would seriously consider returning if a team asked him to play a few more games this year, if only to help a playoff push while also trying to catch Seattle wide receiver Jerry Rice for the league's all-time combined yardage record. Mitchell started the 2004 season holding that NFL record, with 23,330 yards gained rushing, receiving and returning. Rice, 42 and in his 20th season, caught eight passes for 145 yards on Dec. 6 in the Seahawks' Monday night loss to the Cowboys and pulled ahead of Mitchell. Rice now has 23,521 combined yards. Mitchell, who still lives with his family in Northern Virginia, said he was extremely bitter about his release from the Redskins at the time. When he was cut, the Redskins said they felt he had lost a step and were making the move for salary cap reasons. Several team officials, including Snyder, also indicated they felt he had become a bad influence on some of the younger players. "In a playoff game against Tampa Bay my last year here, I went for 100 yards on a kickoff, and I said to myself, 'Man, if I've lost a step, I guess I found it,' " he said. "They came out with the salary cap thing, then Deion [sanders] shows up for $9 million. And then that bad influence stuff, all I know is my track record was that I showed up every day, never missed a game, I was a community guy, I was never in the papers for getting in trouble. "When I was in Philadelphia, I was a team leader, just like in Washington. You lead by what you do on the field." Mitchell said he has long since gotten over his anger toward the Redskins and has also made his peace with Snyder. "I proved them wrong with what I did on the field," he said, "and that's all I really wanted to do. I'm not going to take back what I said at the time. I said it, but it's all in the past, and I'd really like to retire as a Redskin." The next football stop for Mitchell will likely be into the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible in five years. He owns the NFL career records for number of returns (1,070), return touchdowns (13) and return yards (19,013). He is 6,010 yards ahead of No. 2 Mel Gray on the career return yardage list, a record that may never be broken. Still, he said, it perplexes him that no career special team player has ever been selected to the Hall, which also includes only one full-time place kicker (Jan Stenerud) and no pure punters. Mitchell said he leaves the game with few regrets, saying he accomplished far more than he ever imagined when he first came to Washington as a fifth-round draft pick in 1990. "I won a Super Bowl and that's why you play the game," he said. "That's a team thing, too, and that's what it's really all about." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXREDSKINS44 Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 man i'm shocked to see this after all the negative stuff he said about the organization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herrmag Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 I'm curious as to why they felt he was a bad influence in his last year here. If anyone was a bad influence, I'd say it was good ol' Norville. He taught the Redskins how to lose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 Brian Mitchell was the heart and soul of the Skins for a long time, including all the crappy N*&v years. The way the danny handled him in the end was typical of the danny. I guess the danny's conscience got to him. It's the first human thing I've ever seen or heard of him doing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 Not so sure I am pleased by this. Dan is showing uncharacteristic good nature, which I like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bricucci Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 B Mitch is awesome, but unfortunately probably won't get in the hall of fame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denverdan Posted December 17, 2004 Author Share Posted December 17, 2004 i dont care what hes done or said since he left, he was nothing but heart while he was a Redskin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kappaluvacee Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 This is my fist slice of humble pie from the extreme skins board. In one of my first 100 post I said something to the effect that Brian will never retire a Redskin as long as Snyder owns the team after all he said about Mr. Snyder and his refusal to refer to his former boss as Mr. Snyder, instead he had been calling him Danny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omega psi phi man Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 B. Mitch is the man. He is a redskin and should, no doubt, retire a redskin!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiLfan Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 this is great news....B Mitch will always be a skin to me....he left some wonderful memories here. i'm glad he's put the Danny episode behind him, because it's the team, the city, and the fans that will always appreciate what he did for the redskins. and if he doesn't make it into the HOF...i guess i shouldn't be surprised if Art isn't in. but B Mitch's credentials and NFL records speak for themselves...some of them are unparalled (career return yards, for instance). he is simply one of the greatest -- if not THE greatest -- return men of all time. certainly the best I'll ever see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCS Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 They're both being big about this. Time to stop being mad and holding grudges. Good for both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdsknbill Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 B Mitch is in the HOF, eventually. The move to bring Pee-on in and release him was a terrible move. :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DjTj Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 Loyalty to the Redskins above any personal differences - that's good to see from both B.Mitch and the Danny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfan080 Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 This is nice to see. In spite of the crap Mitchell said about Portis , I really liked the guy when he was here and still do. He was a good guy and I'm glad he retired a skin'. Question, did Art Monk retire as a Skin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denverdan Posted December 17, 2004 Author Share Posted December 17, 2004 he sure as hell didnt retire an eagle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Town Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 DENVERDAN!!!!! I LOVE THE SIG!!!!!!!!!!! Man I love it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westbrook36 Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 I love BMitch. Good for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pr11fan Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 I got a bad feeling he may get the snub ala Art Monk, particularly going in as a redskin with all of the bad feelings towards Danny around the nfl. But he's a hall of famer in the minds of those who saw him play and that's what matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonnyRules Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 It's all about Brian! Go retire somewhere else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimster Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 Originally posted by Sarge Brian Mitchell was the heart and soul of the Skins for a long time, including all the crappy N*&v years. The way the danny handled him in the end was typical of the danny. I guess the danny's conscience got to him. It's the first human thing I've ever seen or heard of him doing The way it was handled was a player was released for what was THOUGHT to be a better player. I will admit that in Mitchell's last year or two here, some friends and myself used to get pissed because he fair caught almost everything, and when he did return one it wasn't for very much. - In other words it looked like he was losing a step. I really believe that him getting released woke him up and gave him something to prove. The part about him being a bad influence I could see, the way he likes to always be talking smack, and the fact that a majority of his tenure here being under Norv, meaning no one probably ever told him to shut up. But all in all, I'm glad to see him retiring a Redskin - he desrves it for the work he put in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woofer Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 I'm glad to see him retire as a Redskin. Too bad he can't be signed long enough to play. Maybe he could be a position coach? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saragoth Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 Originally posted by herrmag I'm curious as to why they felt he was a bad influence in his last year here. If anyone was a bad influence, I'd say it was good ol' Norville. He taught the Redskins how to lose Because he was a bad ass on the field and he has a mouth on him with a temper to match. Not bad things to have if your a football player, but sometimes he cost the team 15 yards ;p. Anyway, I never agreed with letting him go, he's performed well for other teams and would have done so in Washington for his entire career, To bad ol DS had to bring in Deon (Leon) Sanders, I tell ya it didn't even feel like the Redskins that year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBig_E Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 Originally posted by skinsfan080 This is nice to see. In spite of the crap Mitchell said about Portis , I really liked the guy when he was here and still do. He was a good guy and I'm glad he retired a skin'. Question, did Art Monk retire as a Skin? Yes, Art Monk retired as a Redskin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfan93 Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 Depending on how NFL contracts are set up, wouldn't it be funny if Mitchell signed the contract and didn't retire? Anyway, I suppose we can let by gone's be by gone's. He did mouth off a lot about the Skins after being an Eagle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gridironmike Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 Its a good sign that Mitchell and Snyder can bury the hatchet. Maybe the influence of Joe Gibbs on both helped out. (Here I go again) If the Redskins had their own Hall of Fame, they could resign him in a ceremony with fans in attendance and then promptly induct him into their HOF. We don't have one though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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