Benjamin Thomas Miller (born August 18, 1979) is an American football coach and former player who is serving as an assistant for Illinois. Prior to being hired at Illinois, he was the special teams coordinator for his alma mater Air Force.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Off Field Assistant |
| Team | Illinois |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | August 18, 1979[1] Columbia Station, Ohio |
| Playing career | |
| 1998–2001 | Air Force |
| 2002–2005 | Cleveland Browns* |
| 2005 | Hamburg Sea Devils* |
| 2005 | Philadelphia Eagles* |
| Position(s) | Running back, offensive lineman, fullback, H-back, Long snapper, tight end |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2002–2003 | Air Force (GA) |
| 2006 | Illinois (GA) |
| 2007 | Air Force (TE) |
| 2008–2011 | Air Force (Specialists/TE) |
| 2012–2020 | Air Force (STC/RB) |
| 2021–2022 | Illinois (STC/TE) |
| 2023–present | Illinois (Assistant) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
Playing career
editAt Air Force starting at left tackle his junior and senior years. Miller was elected as an all-conference offensive lineman[2] for the Falcons. After completing active service for the Air Force and being made a reserve, Miller signed a contract with the Cleveland Browns[3] where he was used as a fullback/tight end/long snapper/H-back. During his. During the NFL offseason, he worked as a public affairs officer for the Air Force recruiting and working in public relations. In the fall of 2005, he joined the practice squad for the Philadelphia Eagles after a stint in NFL Europe in Hamburg.
Coaching career
editWhile on active service in the Air Force, Miller began his coaching career serving as a graduate assistant at the Air Force Academy. After retiring from his playing his career, Miller became a graduate assistant at Illinois in 2006. In 2007 he returned to his alma mater as the team's tight ends coach. In 2008 he was given the additional responsibility of coaching specialist. In 2012 he was named Air Forces’ special teams coordinator and running backs coach a position he held until the end of the 2020 season.[4][5] In 2021 Miller returned to Illinois[6] this time as the team's special teams coordinator and tight ends coach[7] under Bret Bielema.[8][9] In the middle of 2022 he left his on the field coaching role to focus on his fight with cancer, this continued in 2023.[10]
Personal life
editMiller is married to Meghan Carney. The couple has three children.[citation needed] It was announced in 2022 that Miller was fighting cancer.
References
edit- ^ "Ben Miller NFL Stats and Bio". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
- ^ "Disney To Honor Service Academies At College Football Awards Show". Naval Academy Athletics. November 21, 2001. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
- ^ "Browns Place Miller On IR". Cleveland19.com. August 13, 2002. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
- ^ Northam, Mitchell (January 11, 2021). "Longtime Air Force football assistant Ben Miller hired by Illinois". Against All Enemies. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
- ^ Briggeman, Brent (January 10, 2021). "Longtime Air Force football assistant Ben Miller leaving for the Big Ten". Colorado Springs Gazette. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
- ^ Likas, Colin (January 10, 2021). "Former Illini grad assistant Miller tabbed as tight ends coach". The News-Gazette. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
- ^ Flaten, Matthew (January 10, 2021). "Illinois football taps Air Force assistant Ben Miller as new tight ends coach". Herald-Review.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
- ^ Stevens, Matthew (January 10, 2021). "Longtime Air Force Assistant Ben Miller Returns to Illini Coaching Staff as TE Coach". Sports Illustrated Illinois Fighting Illini News, Analysis and More. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
- ^ Pontbriand, Alessandra (January 10, 2021). "Illinois hires tight ends coach Ben Miller". WICS. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
- ^ "UI assistant Ben Miller taking off-field role as cancer battle continues: 'It's the best thing for my health'". 247sports.com. Retrieved April 2, 2023.