Mike Nixon
| Date of birth | November 21, 1911 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | Masontown, Pennsylvania |
| Date of death | September 22, 2000 (aged 88) |
| Place of death | Schaumburg, Illinois |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) | Halfback |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) |
| Weight | 181 lb (82 kg) |
| College | Pittsburgh |
| Career history | |
| As coach | |
| 1939–1941 | West Virginia (assistant) |
| 1952–1953 | Chicago Cardinals (assistant) |
| 1954–1958 | Washington Redskins (assistant) |
| 1959–1960 | Washington Redskins |
| 1961–1964 | Pittsburgh Steelers (assistant) |
| 1965 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 1966–1968 | Philadelphia Eagles (assistant) |
| As player | |
| 1935 | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| 1942 | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| As scout | |
| 1969 – c. 1981 | Cleveland Browns |
| Career stats | |
|
|
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 U.S. Navy
|
| Years of service | 1943–1946 |
| Rank |
 Lieutenant
|
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Michael Regis Nixon (November 21, 1911 – September 22, 2000) was an American football player, coach and scout who spent close to a half-century connected to the game. His most prominent positions were as head coach of the National Football League's Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The son of a Serbian coal miner, Mike Nikšić (because everyone kept pronouncing "Nicksick" he changed it to Nixon) was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area community of Masontown, Pennsylvania and attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he played three seasons under the legendary Jock Sutherland, including action in the 1933 Rose Bowl. At Pitt, he won All-America recognition as a running back, while also working summers in the same coal mines as his father. He then advanced to the NFL, but played just one season with the Steelers in 1935 before entering the coaching fraternity at his alma mater the next year.
During this same period, he also played third base in minor league baseball's Southern Association, while seeking other coaching opportunities. When Sutherland resigned on March 6, 1939, Nixon stayed on for a year before joining Bill Kern's staff at West Virginia University. It was shortly after this period that Nixon changed his name from its original "Nicksick", basing the decision on a discussion with Sutherland, who said it would help him with respect to coaching positions in the South.
Nixon departed after two seasons to return to the professional level as an assistant with the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers. With player shortages beginning that year due to World War II, Nixon briefly resumed his playing career by signing a contract with the team on November 19, 1942. Nixon himself eventually left to serve as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy for three years, but returned in 1946 as a Steelers assistant under his former coach Sutherland.
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