Ken Miller (October 15, 1941 – August 21, 2024) was an American

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach. He last served as an offensive consultant for the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He previously served in the league as head coach and vice president of football operations for the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

. He served as the Roughriders head coach between

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, leading the team to appearances in the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

in 2009 and 2010. Miller returned as head coach of the Roughriders on August 19, 2011, after the firing of Greg Marshall after a 1–7 start to the 2011 CFL season. Miller was the club's offensive coordinator under head coach

Kent Austin Richard Kent Austin (born June 25, 1963) is an American college football coach and former professional player who is the quarterbacks coach for Auburn University. He played as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Fo ...

when they captured the

95th Grey Cup The 95th Grey Cup was held in Toronto at the Rogers Centre on November 25, 2007. The Grey Cup, first awarded in 1909, is the championship game of the Canadian Football League. It was played between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipe ...

in 2007. He had previously served on the coaching staffs of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

University of Redlands The University of Redlands is a private university in Redlands, California, United States. The university's main, residential campus is situated on 160 acres (65 ha) near downtown Redlands. An additional eight regional locations throughout Calif ...

, Dickinson State, and

Yucaipa High School Yucaipa High School is a public high school in Yucaipa, California, United States that serves the cities of Yucaipa and Calimesa and the community of Oak Glen, 65 miles east of Los Angeles. History The original Yucaipa High School campus is ...

Coaching career

Miller started his coaching career in 1966 as a student assistant coach with Dickinson State. He spent the next three season coaching high school football in Oregon before becoming head coach at

in 1970. He joined the University of Redlands as a part-time offensive line coach in 1977 and in 1984 he was promoted to the head coaching position. In 1988 Miller was demoted to offensive coordinator. In 1994, Miller switched to defensive coordinator. He moved back to the offensive side of the ball in 1995 and held the offensive coordinator position until his retirement after the 2000 football season. Miller was also the head

baseball coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

at Redlands from 1986 to 2000. As Redlands' baseball coach, Miller accumulated a 250–235–2 record and led the Bulldogs to a

Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that operates in NCAA Division III. The conference was founded in 1915 and it consists of twelve small private schools that are locat ...

title in 1991. In

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, Miller started his

coaching career when he became the Toronto Argonauts quarterbacks coach. From

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

–

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, Miller was the Argo's offensive line coach. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, Miller's offensive line helped the Argonauts win the

92nd Grey Cup The 92nd Grey Cup game took place on November 21, 2004, at Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. The game decided the championship of the 2004 Canadian Football League season. The Toronto Argonauts defeated the BC Lions 27–19. This is the f ...

and

Damon Allen Damon L. Allen (born July 29, 1963) is an American former professional football quarterback. He played 23 years in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is currently fourth in all-time professional football passing yards and second in all-ti ...

win the league's Most Outstanding Player award. In

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Miller was moved to the defensive side of the ball where he handled the defensive line. In 2007, Miller was hired by former Argonauts assistant

to become the offensive coordinator of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Miller's offensive, led by MOP

Kerry Joseph Kerry Tremaine Joseph (born October 4, 1973) is an American professional football coach and former player who most recently served as the quarterbacks coach for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...

scored the second most points in the CFL and led the Riders to victory in the

. After the season, Miller was promoted to head coach when Austin left after one season to become the offensive co-ordinator at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

. On December 2, 2010, Ken Miller resigned as head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He was originally to remain vice-president of football operations. On August 19, 2011, Miller was reinstated as head coach after the firing of head coach Greg Marshall following the Saskatchewan Roughriders 1–7 start to the 2011 season. Following the second last week of the

2011 CFL season The 2011 CFL season was the 58th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 54th season of the Canadian Football League. The complete schedule was released on February 18 and featured the defending Grey Cup champion Montr ...

Ken Miller announced that he will be stepping down as the team's head coach and vice-president of football operations.

Personal life and death

Miller and his wife Maureen moved to

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

, following the end of his coaching career. Miller died of cancer in Asheville, on August 21, 2024, at the age of 82.

Head coaching record

College

CFL

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Ken 1941 births 2024 deaths Dickinson State Blue Hawks football coaches Redlands Bulldogs baseball coaches Redlands Bulldogs football coaches Saskatchewan Roughriders coaches Toronto Argonauts coaches High school football coaches in California Dickinson State University alumni People from The Dalles, Oregon People from Yucaipa, California Deaths from cancer in North Carolina