Moon Township, Pa. – Mike Miller was driving along Ohio River Boulevard in June of last year when life took a traumatic turn.
His vehicle was struck head-on by an oncoming car, putting his life in jeopardy.
"It's all God, that's why I'm here," said Miller, who was en route to his nephew's baseball game. "I'm just really thankful and appreciative."
Taken away by ambulance, Miller's head was gashed and concussed. He suffered broken bones in his ankle and forearm. He endured tears in his shoulder and knee ligaments.
After undergoing multiple surgeries, Miller was confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of the summer.
"The sands of time were moving slowly," said Miller, who debuts as the
Robert Morris University offensive coordinator this fall. "It was difficult."
Miller, though, refused to let the setback define him. He tapped into the mental makeup that enabled him to carve out a sterling coaching career, one that started as a graduate assistant at Robert Morris and eventually landed him jobs as a quality-control assistant with the Steelers and as the offensive coordinator with the Arizona Cardinals.
"When you go through the experience that I did, you think back to things that you learned from different people in your life," said Miller, who worked for Bill Cowher with the Steelers and Ken Whisenhunt with the Cardinals. "Coach Cowher would talk about ebbs and flows of a game, and that's the same with life. You're going to get knocked down, but how do you respond? You have to be strong in your faith, and I try to be as strong as I can be. I believe things happen for a reason."
Miller continues to deal with some residual effects from the accident, but is getting closer to full strength. He credited his cousin Dan Glatz, owner of Performance UNLIMITED Physical Therapy in Wexford, Pa., for working diligently with him over the past year.
"Dan put me back together again," Miller said. "To stand here a year later, and boy, it was an ordeal, I am happy to say it's behind me. I won't be 100 percent, but pretty close. The key is to not worry about it and to move on."
NEWS: Two Home Night Games Highlight 2016 Schedule
Miller is counting the days until Aug. 4, when the Colonials embark on training camp for the 2016 season. Coach
John Banaszak hired the Plum, Pa., native to jump-start a unit that ranked 117 (out of 123) in the FCS in total offense last season. The Colonials have ranked in the 100s in each of the past three seasons.
"We've got to significantly improve," Banaszak said. "I think with Mike's expertise, and all that he knows offensively, we have a great chance to get much better."
Based on his résumé, Miller could have a profound impact on the RMU offense. After all, he was associated with some of the top players and coaches in the sport during his 13 NFL seasons.
While serving as an offensive quality control coach with the Steelers from 1999-2003, Miller worked with stars such as Jerome Bettis, Hines Ward and Alan Faneca. Moreover, he learned the ins and outs of the game from Cowher and his then-assistants Russ Grimm and Mike Mularkey. The Steelers ranked among the top five in the NFL in total yards in 2001 and 2002.
While with Cowher, Miller gleaned how to build an effective running game, the ground-and-pound offense, so to speak.
"You always play to the strengths of your personnel," Miller said. "When you have guys like Jerome Bettis, Marvel Smith, Kendall Simmons, Alan Faneca and Jerame Tuman, you can pound that rock."
Miller would follow Mularkey to Buffalo to serve as the Bills' tight ends coach from 2004-05, then moved to Berlin to coach in NFL Europe for a season once Mularkey's staff was let go.
The big break came in 2007. That's when Whisenhunt named Miller his wide receivers coach. The move would pay off handsomely for both men.
In 2008, Cardinals wideouts Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Breaston and Anquan Boldin each amassed more than 1,000 yards receiving That team, led by quarterback Kurt Warner, nearly won Super Bowl XLIII, losing in the waning seconds to the Steelers in Tampa.
Miller said being around such high-end talent molded him as a coach.
"Working with Kurt Warner was like earning your PhD in football every day," Miller said. "The demands mentally with those guys were incredible. The level in which they worked was incredible. If you look at a successful coach, there are three things players ask of him. One: "Can he make me better?" Two: "Does he care about me?" and Three: "Can I trust him?" So, I always made sure that I was (honest) with them. We would sometimes have good talks, and, sometimes, not so good talks. You had to tell them things that would make them better. Plus, they'd see through you if you didn't know what you were talking about."
As far as offensive philosophies go, Miller said he is chameleon-like.
"You do what best fits your personnel," he said. "You can't get locked into one style if it doesn't suit your players."
In 2009-10, Miller served as passing game coordinator in Arizona before being promoted to offensive coordinator for two seasons. Whisenhunt's staff was released after the 2012 campaign.
Miller spent 2013 with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League and 2014 as the offensive coordinator at Edinboro University, where quarterback Cody Harris ranked second nationally in completion percentage.
He had planned to coach in an NFL developmental league last season, but the accident precluded him from doing so.
"Wasn't meant to be at the time," Miller said.
As it is, Miller is back where it all started in 1997, when then-Colonials coach Joe Walton hired him as graduate assistant. A relative unknown to the profession in those days, Miller did not play football at alma mater Clarion University and worked as a public relations intern with the Penguins and Steelers out of college, he was quick study.
"Being with Coach Walton and (Dan) Radakovich back then, gave me my foundation as a coach," said Miller, who was part of a staff that helped the Colonials run for more than 2,000 yards in 1997 and set school records in rushing yards per game (187.3) and average yards per rush (4.96) in 1998. "They were very influential."
A master of time management, Miller juggled two jobs while earning his Master's degree in education at RMU in 1998. He unloaded planes for Federal Express from 2:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and delivered bread for Mancini's in McKees Rocks, Pa., from 8:30 a.m. until Noon. That was followed by football practice from 2:45 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and classes from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Little wonder Miller is known as a "grinder" in the coaching ranks.
"My night off was Saturday," Miller said. "That was for sleeping."
Miller also coached at RMU in 2006, this time as defensive line coach. The Colonials led the nation in total defense that season, while setting school records in fewest first downs, rushing yards and total yards allowed. This is where he forged a relationship with Banaszak, who was an assistant on Walton's staff at the time.
Miller said he is grateful to be coaching again after enduring that horrific accident 13 months ago.
"I really feel that, in many ways, it has changed my perspective," he said of that head-on collision. "Everybody still has goals, with what they want to achieve and where they want to be, but I think now I have more patience and I'm more about embracing the moment. The pressure to be the best you can be will still be there, but the approach might be a little different. But I'm really excited. We have a grind ahead of us here at Robert Morris University. I like what I saw in the spring and I'm looking forward to coaching these kids and helping them perform at the highest level."
Follow The Colonials: Twitter | Instagram
