Introduction
William Scott Mitchell (born January 2, 1968) is a former professional American football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League for 12 seasons. He played for the Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL, and also the Orlando Thunder of the World League of American Football. Mitchell played college football for the University of Utah.
College career
Mitchell played for the Utah Utes.
Statistics
| Year | Team | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 1987 | Utah | 109 | 188 | 58.0 | 1,448 | 7.7 | 9 | 4 | 134.2 | 21 | -44 | -2.1 | 1 |
| 1988 | Utah | 323 | 533 | 60.6 | 4,322 | 8.1 | 29 | 15 | 141.0 | 56 | -23 | -0.4 | 0 |
| 1989 | Utah | 237 | 444 | 53.4 | 3,211 | 7.2 | 31 | 19 | 128.6 | 64 | -78 | -1.2 | 2 |
| Career | 669 | 1,165 | 57.4 | 8,981 | 7.7 | 69 | 38 | 135.2 | 141 | -145 | -1.0 | 3 | |
Source:
Professional career
Mitchell was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the fourth round (93rd overall) of the 1990 NFL Draft. After serving three years as Dan Marino's back-up, Mitchell became the Dolphins' starting quarterback in 1993 when Marino was injured. Mitchell was signed as a free agent by the Detroit Lions in 1994.
Mitchell led a Detroit offense that included running back Barry Sanders and receivers Herman Moore and Brett Perriman. However, in 1994—his first season as a starter for the Lions—Mitchell struggled. In a loss to the Green Bay Packers, Mitchell went down with an injury, and was replaced by backup quarterback Dave Krieg, who led the team to the 1994 playoffs. Offensive tackle Lomas Brown, on ESPN program First Take later admitted to purposefully missing a block that resulted in this injury, as he was upset over Mitchell's poor play. However, a review of game film and play-by-play logs of the game by football historian Andy Barall fails to corroborate Brown's recollection of what occurred. Mitchell regained his starting position the following year.
In 1995, he set single-season records for the Lions in touchdown passes (32) and passing yards (4,338), both of which were later broken by Matthew Stafford. Mitchell's Lions made the NFL playoffs in 1995 and 1997. Mitchell stayed with the Lions through the 1998 season, when he lost the starting quarterback job to rookie Charlie Batch. He would complete his career with stints with the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals.
NFL stats
| Year | Team | G | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Lng | Int | Fum | Rtg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | MIA | 16 | 2 | 8 | 25.0 | 32 | 4.00 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 4.2 |
| 1993 | MIA | 13 | 133 | 233 | 57.1 | 1,773 | 7.61 | 12 | 77 | 8 | 1 | 84.2 |
| 1994 | DET | 9 | 119 | 246 | 48.4 | 1,456 | 5.92 | 10 | 34 | 11 | 6 | 62.0 |
| 1995 | DET | 16 | 346 | 583 | 59.3 | 4,338 | 7.44 | 32 | 91 | 12 | 7 | 92.3 |
| 1996 | DET | 14 | 253 | 437 | 57.9 | 2,917 | 6.68 | 17 | 62 | 17 | 8 | 74.9 |
| 1997 | DET | 16 | 293 | 509 | 57.6 | 3,484 | 6.85 | 19 | 79 | 14 | 8 | 79.6 |
| 1998 | DET | 2 | 38 | 75 | 50.7 | 452 | 6.03 | 1 | 44 | 3 | 0 | 57.2 |
| 1999 | BAL | 2 | 24 | 56 | 42.9 | 236 | 4.21 | 1 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 31.5 |
| 2000 | CIN | 8 | 89 | 187 | 47.6 | 966 | 5.17 | 3 | 38 | 8 | 3 | 50.8 |
| 2001 | CIN | 1 | 4 | 12 | 33.3 | 38 | 3.17 | 0 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 3.5 |
| Career | 97 | 1,301 | 2,346 | 55.5 | 15,692 | 6.69 | 95 | 91 | 81 | 34 | 75.3 | |
Source:
Coaching career
In February 2008, Mitchell was announced as the football head coach of his alma mater, Springville High School in Utah.
In January 2012, Mitchell stepped down from his coaching position to spend more time on his software business.
Personal life
In 2014, Mitchell had reached 366 pounds (166 kg). He was a contestant on Season 16 of the reality competition The Biggest Loser, titled The Biggest Loser: Glory Days, which premiered on September 11, 2014 on NBC. He was eliminated in week 16 as the last player eliminated from "comeback canyon", losing his final weigh in to Woody. Mitchell is an Eagle Scout.