NFL NETWORK’S A FOOTBALL LIFE PROFILES THE LATE ALL PRO LINEBACKER SAM MILLS
‘Sam Mills: A Football Life’ Premieres Thursday, October 12 Following ‘Thursday Night Football’
“You’re not going to quit. You’re not going to slow down. And you refuse to give up, you refuse to give in. That’s the way it’s got to be done.” – Sam Mills
NFL Network’s Emmy-nominated series A Football Life continues Thursday, October 12 following the Philadelphia Eagles-Carolina Panthers Thursday Night Football game with a profile of five-time Pro Bowl linebacker and former assistant defensive coach Sam Mills. The one-hour show produced by NFL Films features archived interviews with Mills, as well as interviews with current and former Panthers players such as Julius Peppers, Steve Smith Sr., Kevin Greene and Luke Kuechly, former New Orleans Saints head coach Jim Mora and more.
Sam Mills: A Football Life re-airs Friday, October 13 at 9:00 PM ET on NFL Network.
Each episode of A Football Life – as well as all NFL Network programming – is streamed live on smartphones through NFL Mobile from Verizon, and via Watch NFL Network on tablet (NFL Mobile, Watch NFL Network and NFL on Windows 10 apps), PC (NFL.com/watch), Xbox One and Xbox 360(NFL on Xbox app) and other connected TV devices (NFL app on Apple TV, PlayStation 4, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV).
Sam Mills was considered a great athlete but his height left many college and NFL scouts skeptical. Throughout his career he would prove them wrong, becoming a three-time All-Pro with the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints. Following his NFL playing career, Mills was inducted into the Saints’ Hall of Fame and the Panthers’ Hall of Honor. Sam Mills: A Football Life examines Mills’ storied football life and the legacy he has left on the game and its players.
Among the topics discussed in Sam Mills: A Football Life are:
- His positive impact on the game of football regardless of his height, and his impact on others on and off the field
- His 12-season career with the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers
- His cancer diagnosis and his years coaching the Panthers, along with the birth of the Carolina mantra ‘Keep Pounding’
- His statue outside of the Panthers stadium erected in 1997, shortly after his retirement
- His son, Sam Mills III, continuing to coach the Panthers after his father’s death in 2005
Emmy-nominated actor Josh Charles narrates.
Sam Mills: A Football Life includes interviews with the following people and more:
Sam Mills
Sam Mills III – Son
Marcus Mills – Son
Sierra Mills – Daughter
Melanie Mills – Wife
Carl Peterson – Former Philadelphia Stars general manager
Jim Mora – Former Saints and Stars head coach
Julius Peppers – Panthers defensive end
Steve Smith Sr. – Former Panthers wide receiver
Bobby Hebert – Saints teammate
Vaughan Johnson – Saints teammate
Rickey Jackson – Saints teammate
Kevin Greene – Panthers teammate
Thomas Davis – Panthers linebacker
Luke Kuechly – Panthers linebacker
Ron Rivera – Panthers head coach
Provided below are some select quotes from Sam Mills: A Football Life:
– “You’re not going to quit. You’re not going to slow down. And you refuse to give up, you refuse to give in. That’s the way it’s got to be done.” – Sam Mills
– “Best player I’ve ever coached. Everything you want in a player, on the field, off the field. He’s the best.” –Jim Mora
– “I remember it pretty well. He said, ‘The doctors told me that I had this cancer. Now there’s two things I can do: I could quit or I can keep pounding.’ That’s when that thing was born. The ‘Keep Pounding’ mantra was born on that day.” – Julius Peppers
– “Being on the team with him and seeing how he’s coached and seeing how energetic he was, you just knew he was different.” – Steve Smith Sr.
– “How many teams put a statue of you up while you’re living?…That showed you the type of person and the way they felt about Sam.” – Vaughan Johnson
This year, the 13-episode season of the highly-acclaimed series A Football Life airs Friday at 9:00 PM ET. Below is a broadcast schedule for the remaining episodes of A Football Life:
- November 3 – Jim Kelly
- November 10 – Larry Fitzgerald
- November 17 – Eddie George
- November 24 – Joe Gibbs
- December 1 – Jerry Jones
- December 8 – Aeneas Williams
- December 15 – John Randle
- December 22 – Lynn Swann & John Stallworth
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