There's no sound. If the Pro Football Hall of Fame required Sam Mills to be a member of one team in August, Sam Mills III thought his dad would choose the Saints. The defensive line coach for the Washington Commanders said that it was difficult. You can make an argument for the Saints because you were part of the wave that changed the history of New Orleans. You go to Carolina and say you helped build this. There have been similar debates. The case of Mills is unique. The dominant inside linebacker overcame long odds to make it to the NFL, then became an icon by helping shape the legacies of rival teams before he died of cancer at 45. Mills was a quarterback for the Saints from 1986 to 1994 and is in the ring of honor. There is a statue of Mills outside of Bank of America Stadium, which he played for in the early days of the franchise. Mills' legacy is furthered by the fact that the statue is 5 feet, 9 inches. The team's motto is " Keep Pounding", which is what his speech was about. When major colleges didn't recruit him, Mills moved to New Jersey and became the head coach at Montclair State. He was cut by both the Cleveland Browns and the Toronto Argonauts after being drafted. After teaching high school photography in his home state, Mills got a chance to play in the USFL and became one of the league's best players. The rags-to-riches path of Mills is more remarkable than that of Kurt Warner, according to Jim Skipper, Mills' former coach. Sam had more chances than me. Kurt Warner has everything. Mills was named All USFL in each of the three seasons. Every year, the Stars won the title. Jeff Pearlman, who wrote a book on the league's history, ranked Mills as the USFL's best overall player because of the "reverential tones" he used to be described to teammates and opponents. Mills had to prove himself once more when he followed coach Jim Mora and his staff to New Orleans in 1986. Mills was not signed until a week into training camp. Some of his teammates weremocking the signing at first. Hebert said that Mora brought in one of his boys from the USFL. Back in those days of full-contact practices, Mora and Fangio admitted they weren't sure how well Mills would do. Mora said he would remember this day forever. "Sam gets in the huddle and he looks short to me standing next to these guys." I'm not going to tell the truth. I can see what they were thinking. I stood there and said to Sam, 'C'mon Sam, you can do it.' "Sam steps up and tackles the guard, just stuffs him, and makes the tackle." He does it at least four or five times. All of the players said "Holy s---" when I told them I knew this. After that, for the next nine years, he never looked short in that huddle again. He looked right at home, and he did. Fangio said he and Mora smiled at each other after it happened. You can meet the class of 2022.
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Hebert said it was an embarrassment. It was minus 14 yards when we did 12 plays.
Mills made an impression on the other team. Dickerson stayed in New Orleans because he was friends with Rickey Jackson, who was a teammate of his. Dickerson wanted to see the little guy who delivered one of the hardest hits he had ever taken.
It went for the next ten years. He was named to four Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams with the Saints. He was the oldest player ever invited to the Pro Bowl when he was 37 years old.
Beloved as much for his leadership as his performance, Mills was the signal-caller for the legendary "Dome Patrol" linebacker corps in New Orleans that included fellow Hall of Famer Jackson. He was part of the team that made the first four playoffs in franchise history. He was honored many times for his community work.
Hebert said that there was no bigger heart in the NFL.
The man was hungry. He was not supposed to make it. He took full advantage of his chance.
Capers had a plan when he was named the coach of the expansion panthers in 1995.
The first guy I thought of to be the face of the franchise was Sam. He was a good football player. He was also a better leader and a better person.
The HOFer is Sam Mills.
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I just trusted him a lot.
The previous three seasons were spent with the PittsburghSteelers. Fangio told Mills that he had a lot of good football left.
The Saints didn't offer Mills a new deal fast enough. He chose the upstart team when they only offered to match Carolina's two year deal.
Mills set the tone for the next three years. Mills would deal with issues whenever Capers noticed them. He would hold court in his locker in the corner near the entrance to the equipment room.
He answered reporter questions for as long as they asked them.
My mother used to ask me if I had to always be the last person to leave the locker room. The man said with a laugh.
There was more waiting to happen.
Hall of Fame President Jim Porter called Sam Mills' son, Sam Mills III, to inform him that his father had been elected to the Class of 2022.
More on Sam Mills' election ➡️ https://t.co/oZOSuq0XTx#PFHOF22 | @Saints | @Panthers pic.twitter.com/V41gtQo7Gm
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) February 21, 2022
He remembers how hard it was to get through dinner because so many people came up to the table. He gave to the city and they gave back.
Mills was part of the team that secured their first win. They were 0-5 and trailed the New York Jets by six points at the half. Mills ran 36 yards for the touchdown after the quarterback tried to pass the ball with a shovel.
Capers said that they would have thought they'd won the Super Bowl. We became a very competitive team because of Sam.
The best record by an expansion team was achieved by the panthers. They went to theNFC Championship in 1996 after a 12-4 record.
Mills retired in 1997 after falling a single tackle shy of 100 for the second season in a row.
His statue was put up outside the stadium. Since that time, no Carolina player has gotten that honor.
Mills III said that it was a validation. The Hall of Fame is the cream on top. It's like, now you're accepted throughout the entire football world.
The uproar began after the stadium video board didn't show "Keep Pounding" during the opener. The fan club begged David Tepper not to take that away from them on social media.
It was back at home.
The chant is a reminder of Mills' impact on the 2003 team that lost the Super Bowl to New England. John Fox was Mills' coach that season.
He wasn't strong enough to go to the stadium. During the playoffs, Mills wanted to speak to the team 24 hours prior to the game.
Mills said that he could either quit or keep pounding after he was diagnosed with cancer. I'm fighting. I continued to pound. You're also a fighter. Don't let the pounding stop!
"This is a reminder that Sam was more than a player, he was a person,'' Fox said.
Mills didn't get voted into the Hall of Fame until his 20th year of eligibility, which makes sense.
The fabric of the organization is compared to "Who Dat'' in New Orleans. He can only imagine that his dad would have said that.
The person said, 'Hey, you're cut from the browns.' Mills III told him that he was cut from the Canadian Football League. Before cancer came into the picture, keep pounding was his main career.
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