@CoachMillerRMU
Robert Morris University head football coach
John Banaszak announced the hiring of
Mike Miller as offensive coordinator in January 2016 and enters his second year guiding the Colonials offense in 2017.
Miller, who owns 13 years of experience on National Football League offensive staffs, returned to the place where his coaching career began as a graduate assistant on Joe Walton's 1997 staff.
The NFL veteran was tested in his first season as the Colonials offensive coordinator while showing flexibility and originality with a multiple formation offense. Decimated by injury at the quarterback and reciever position, RMU saw five different quarterbacks play in 2016. Miller responded with multiple gameplans and took advantage of multi-dimensional athletes to keep opponents on their heels.
He developed freshman Tim Vecchio into a legitimate playmaker as the rookie finished the season with a team-best 35 receptions. Miller also showed off the unique abilities of Warren Robinson as a wildcat threat. Robinson rushed for nearly 5.5 yards per carry, had 14 receptions including a touchdown and completed 60 percent of passes for an efficiency rating of 135.6.
Miller most recently coached in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals where he served as a wide receivers coach (2007-08) and then passing game coordinator (2009-10) before being promoted to offensive coordinator (2011-12). Miller's unit of receivers was key in the Cardinals reaching Super Bowl XLIII, the organization's first appearance in the Super Bowl. In that 2008 season, Miller helped three different receivers surpass 1,000 receiving yards, marking only the fifth time in NFL history that a team achieved that feat.
One of Miller's top protégés was Larry Fitzgerald, as Miller guided the receiver to a Pro Bowl selection in each of his seasons on staff. Nearly all of Fitzgerald's statistics improved in Miller's first year compared to the year prior, and the receiver led the National Football Conference in receptions and receiving yards in both 2007 and 2008 under Miller. To this day, Fitzgerald's career highs in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and yards per reception all came under Miller's guidance, and the latter helped the former to three All-Pro selections.
Miller also assisted Anquan Boldin, who was named a Pro Bowl starter in 2008 despite starting only 11 games. Boldin's career highs in receiving touchdowns (11) and receptions per game (7.4) came under Miller's watch.
Before a two-year stint as the tight ends coach with the Buffalo Bills, Miller had begun his professional career with the Pittsburgh Steelers under Bill Cowher as an offensive quality control coach. He helped his hometown team rank among the top five in the NFL in total yards in both 2001 and 2002.
Miller has also enjoyed success in his prior collegiate stints, including at RMU. His last collegiate stop came at Edinboro, where he helped quarterback Cody Harris rank second nationally in completion percentage in 2014 while sitting among the top 15 in completions per game. Harris also led the league in touchdown-to-interception ratio, which helped Miller's 2014 offense rank among the top 10 nationally in fewest turnovers.
Miller most recently was at RMU in 2006 when he coached the defensive line and helped RMU finish second in the league standings after it was picked seventh in the preseason poll. The Colonials led the nation in total defense while setting school records in fewest first downs, rushing yards and total yards allowed. Miller helped two Colonial defensive linemen earn All-America nods as Matt Brunck and Ray Gensler collected hardware with the latter tying the single-season RMU sack record.
The announcement of his hiring brought Miller full circle in a sense as he started coaching football at Robert Morris in 1997 and 1998. He helped RMU claim a Northeast Conference title in each of those seasons, including an ECAC Bowl win in 1997. Miller coached running backs in his first two seasons and helped Colonials post 100-yard rushing efforts on 15 occasions in his 21 games as the coach for that position group.
RMU rushed for over 2,000 yards in 1997 under Miller, one of only three occurrences in school history that they have surpassed that mark. The following season Miller helped RMU set single-season school records that still stand in both rushing yards per game (187.3) and average yards per rush (4.96). Miller helped Donald Dorsey earn Mid-Major All-America honors that season after he guided Archie Wannamaker to All-NEC honors the year prior.
Miller also has experience coaching in NFL Europe, with the Berlin Thunder, and in the Canadian Football League, where he helped the Montreal Alouettes reach the playoffs in 2013.
A native of Pittsburgh, Miller earned a Bachelor's degree in communication from Clarion in 1992 after graduating from Plum High School. He proceeded to obtain a Master's degree in education from Robert Morris in 1998.
