Sam Mills - After Football

After Football

Mills played 12 seasons in the NFL and recorded 1,319 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 11 interceptions and four touchdowns while starting 173 of 181 games. Mills was named to the NFL All-Pro team three times, in 1991, 1992, and 1996. He was elected to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (1991), the Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey (1993) and the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame (1998). After retiring from play, Mills was inducted into the Carolina Panthers Hall of Honor. He became a Defensive Coaching Assistant for the Panthers in 1998, before being promoted to Linebackers coach in 1999. In August 2003, however, Mills was diagnosed with intestinal cancer. Though he was told he had only a few months to live, he underwent chemotherapy and radiation and continued to coach. He was an inspirational force in the Panthers’ post-season run to Super Bowl XXXVIII. His plea to "Keep Pounding" in an emotional speech before the Panthers' victory over the Dallas Cowboys later became the name of a fund to sponsor cancer research programs. He continued to coach the team during the entire 2004 season, but after battling with cancer for almost 2 years, Mills died at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina on the morning of April 18, 2005. He was 45.

Mills' number 51 was retired by the Panthers at the start of the 2005 NFL season, making it the first number the franchise has retired . Mills was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009, with his son Sam Mills III accepting the award on his father's behalf. Sam Mills III currently holds the position of Quality Control - Defense coach for the Carolina Panthers.

The speech inspired Nike, when awarded the contract for NFL jerseys starting in the 2012 NFL season, to feature "Keep Pounding" sewn on the inside collars of Panthers jerseys for the 2012 NFL season, in honour of the elder Mills.