Saskatchewan Roughriders Head Coach Ken Miller during the Coaches Media Conference on Wednesday November 25th at the Fairmount Palliser hotel in Calgary .
Photograph by: Dean Bicknell , Calgary Herald
Photograph by: Dean Bicknell , Calgary Herald
CALGARY — Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Ken Miller is a warm, sincere, avuncular man who comes across very much like the high school biology teacher he used to be.
But Miller’s character is iceberg-like, also. There’s way more beneath the surface than you might suspect.
So more than a few eyebrows were raised when the 68-year-old coach of the Grey Cup finalist Roughriders was asked to talk on Wednesday about a vague illness situation back in 2002 that delayed his joining the Toronto Argonauts as an assistant coach.
So more than a few eyebrows were raised when the 68-year-old coach of the Grey Cup finalist Roughriders was asked to talk on Wednesday about a vague illness situation back in 2002 that delayed his joining the Toronto Argonauts as an assistant coach.
Miller hesitated before responding in characteristic fashion, with direct honesty.
“Oh, shoot,” Miller said, which is about as profane as he gets. “First of all, I was teaching biology at a high school (in California), which is not very serious in its own right, unless you want to coach football.
“I was contracted through June, so that was one conflict. But also during that spring, I had prostate cancer.
“I was taking treatments for that at Loma Linda University Medical Centre in California. At that time, it was a kind of a treatment they considered almost as being experimental. It was proton beam radiation.”
“Oh, shoot,” Miller said, which is about as profane as he gets. “First of all, I was teaching biology at a high school (in California), which is not very serious in its own right, unless you want to coach football.
“I was contracted through June, so that was one conflict. But also during that spring, I had prostate cancer.
“I was taking treatments for that at Loma Linda University Medical Centre in California. At that time, it was a kind of a treatment they considered almost as being experimental. It was proton beam radiation.”
The eight-week treatment regimen meant he couldn’t join the Argonauts at training camp.
The proton beams did their work because, Miller added: “I haven’t had anything related to that for a number of years.”
That’s one reason why Miller wouldn’t have mentioned the subject beyond a small circle of associates in the three years he has been with the Roughriders, including the last two as head coach.
The other reason is he doesn’t talk that much about himself, whether it’s his overcoming cancer, his passion for painting, or anything else.
“He’s very thoughtful, very reflective and he likes to play that understated, low-key role,” said Jim Hopson, the Roughriders president and chief executive officer. “He always wants the attention on the team, on the players, not on him.”
Hopson learned that shortly after ex-Roughriders quarterback Kent Austin returned there as head coach in 2007, bringing Miller along with him from Toronto.
“Kent was the guy who said, ‘This guy has as sharp a football mind as you’ll see, but he’s not going to tell you that, you’ll have to figure that out on your own,’ ” Hopson said. “He’s probably as modest and candid a coach as you’ll find. There’s no guile.
“A lot of coaches are always spinning something. But Ken, if you ask him a question, he’s going to give you a straight answer. Sometimes, I shudder. But he’s just that way.”
Miller’s way is in sharp contrast to Austin, the former Saskatchewan quarterback, who coached the Roughriders to a Grey Cup championship in ’07. Hopson said Miller knew full well he was following a “rock star,” when he took over after Austin left for the University of Mississippi.
Well, the ex-biology teacher is no rock star, which is fine with Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant, who emerged from the four-man QB carousel of ’08 to start all 18 regular-season games this season.
“Coach Miller is going to be who he is at all times,” Durant said. “He’s not going to yell. When he speaks, you listen. He gets his point across.
“Coach Miller is going to be who he is at all times,” Durant said. “He’s not going to yell. When he speaks, you listen. He gets his point across.
“That’s the type of leader we need on this team. We don’t need a rah-rah, yelling, fussing type of coach. Coach Miller’s role is perfect, his demeanour is perfect for this team.
“We love him just the way he is. He has meant a lot to me in my development. The guy is somewhat of a genius.”
Miller would scoff at that. He told Hopson in the off-season he felt he had not managed the Roughriders quarterbacks well at all in ’08. That was a key reason why in ’09 Miller wanted to identify a quarterback to build his team around and work with him, which he has.
“Oh, man, Coach Miller really did a great job of not letting one or two games determine the season of this team,” Durant said. “The thing I appreciate from him is realizing there are going to be some low points, but you see character in players, see how they bounce back from adversity when things aren’t going well.
“He gave me an opportunity to bounce back from adversity, to make up for the mistakes I made, either during the game or in a previous game. It has built character in me, and it has allowed me to become the player I am today.”
“He gave me an opportunity to bounce back from adversity, to make up for the mistakes I made, either during the game or in a previous game. It has built character in me, and it has allowed me to become the player I am today.”
Durant’s focus is on Sunday’s Grey Cup game against the Montreal Alouettes, but he’s aware of the rumours that Miller might retire following this season. He made it clear he wants Miller to stick around in Regina.
So did Miller, in his own self-deprecating way, during the coaches news conference on Wednesday morning.
“As we’ve gone through this season, after a couple of losses, I’m sure there have been people who were very high on that possibility,” Miller said. “As we have come down through this home stretch, really, I’ve heard that rumour and I assure you, it didn’t come from me, or anyone who is very close to me.
So did Miller, in his own self-deprecating way, during the coaches news conference on Wednesday morning.
“As we’ve gone through this season, after a couple of losses, I’m sure there have been people who were very high on that possibility,” Miller said. “As we have come down through this home stretch, really, I’ve heard that rumour and I assure you, it didn’t come from me, or anyone who is very close to me.
“There might be a time when I say it’s enough. At this point in time, I have no intention of retiring.”
Coming from Miller, you take that at face value. After all he’s been through, why would he stop now?
Edmonton Journal
Coming from Miller, you take that at face value. After all he’s been through, why would he stop now?
Edmonton Journal
jmackinnon@thejournal.canwest.com
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