Ben Miller (American football)

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Ben Miller
Current position
TitleOff Field Assistant
TeamIllinois
ConferenceBig Ten
Biographical details
Born (1979-08-18) August 18, 1979 (age 44)[1]
Columbia Station, Ohio
Playing career
1998–2001Air Force
2002–2005Cleveland Browns*
2005Hamburg Sea Devils*
2005Philadelphia Eagles*
Position(s)Running back, offensive lineman, fullback, H-back, Long snapper, tight end
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2002–2003Air Force (GA)
2006Illinois (GA)
2007Air Force (TE)
2008–2011Air Force (Specialists/TE)
2012–2020Air Force (STC/RB)
2021–2022Illinois (STC/TE)
2023–presentIllinois (Assistant)

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.

Playing career[edit]

At 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[edit]

While 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[edit]

Miller is married to Meghan Carney. The couple has three children.[citation needed] It was announced in 2022 that Miller was fighting cancer.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Ben Miller NFL Stats and Bio". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  2. ^ "Disney To Honor Service Academies At College Football Awards Show". Naval Academy Athletics. 21 November 2001. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  3. ^ "Browns Place Miller On IR". Cleveland19.com. 13 August 2002. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  4. ^ Northam, Mitchell (2021-01-11). "Longtime Air Force football assistant Ben Miller hired by Illinois". Against All Enemies. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  5. ^ Briggeman, Brent (10 January 2021). "Longtime Air Force football assistant Ben Miller leaving for the Big Ten". Colorado Springs Gazette. Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  6. ^ Likas, Colin (10 January 2021). "Former Illini grad assistant Miller tabbed as tight ends coach". The News-Gazette. Archived from the original on 2021-01-10. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  7. ^ Flaten, Matthew (10 January 2021). "Illinois football taps Air Force assistant Ben Miller as new tight ends coach". Herald-Review.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  8. ^ Stevens, Matthew (10 January 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 2021-08-15.
  9. ^ Pontbriand, Alessandra (2021-01-10). "Illinois hires tight ends coach Ben Miller". WICS. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  10. ^ "UI assistant Ben Miller taking off-field role as cancer battle continues: 'It's the best thing for my health'". 247sports.com. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
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