Sam Mills (NFL Linebacker)

 Today's blog post is about a Hall of Fame football player and Hall of Fame human being in Sam Mills who sadly passed away 20 years ago.

Sam's story is incredible and I wish we hear more stories like him. He is the literally meaning of an underdog story. Mills stood 5 feet 9 inches and weight a little over 200 pounds which was what led him to being undrafted in the NFL despite the simple fact that many pro scouts loved his college tapes.

Fortunately for Mills, he was picked up by the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars of the USFL and certainly left an impression in the three years the league was around. Being a big fan of defense in football, Mills was the anchor of Stars' famous Doghouse Defense which was a key factor in the Stars winning the USFL title in both 1984 and 1985.

Mills then followed his coach from the Stars (Jim Mora) into the NFL after the USFL folded and became a member of the New Orleans Saints from 1986 to 1994 where he as again a focus point in another amazing defense. This time it was the famous Dome Patrol where Mills along with Rickey Jackson, Vaughan Johnson (RIP) and Pat Swilling were the four linebackers in Steve Sidwell's (RIP) 3-4 defense. During his time with the Saints, Mills had made four Pro Bowls.

Finally, Mills was a part of the expansion team Carolina Panthers for a couple years before retiring from the game of football. In his 12 years in the league as a player, Mills recorded 1,319 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 11 inceptions, four touchdowns while starting 173 of 181 games.

After his career as a player, Mills joined the Panthers' coaching staff before finding out he had cancer. But like his whole life, Mills continued to be the fighter that he was always known to be. Mills became the inspirational leader of the Panthers during their run towards the Super Bowl where he came up with the famous "Keep Pounding" speech.

Since his death, Mills has become apart of the Saints' Hall of Fame as well as their Ring of Honor. Panthers retired his number 51 as well as being him in their Hall of Honor. Mills then joined his rightful place among the many others in the NFL Hall of Fame in 2022 which again he deserved in my humble opinion.

Seeing what Mills went through his whole career, just goes to show that it doesn't matter how big you are, talent will always find a way to success. And even at the end, he continued to inspire others to this very day.

Rest In Peace, Mills! Thank you for being such an inspiration and thank you for everything you have contributed to the great game of football.

Until Next Time!

God Bless and Be Safe Everybody! 🙏🙏🙏

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