Article Courtesy: Paul Letlow, ULM L Club
ULM Sports Hall of Famer Al Miller collected another huge honor recently from his former NFL peers.
The NFL Strength and Conditioning Coaches celebrated Miller's career achievements by awarding him their NFL Lifetime Achievement Award at the organization's annual banquet in Indianapolis.
“I'm not very braggadocious,” Miller said, “but it means a lot to know that your work has been noticed in that way.”
Miller retired in 2014 after two years as head strength coach with the Oakland Raiders. In all he spent 23 years as an NFL strength and conditioning coach including tours with the Denver Broncos (1985-92), New York Giants (1993-96) and Atlanta Falcons (1997-2006). Miller was a member of the inaugural USA Strength and Conditioning Hall of Fame class in 2003.
“It's been a lifetime of being infatuated with it,” said Miller, who lives in Monroe, La. “I've seen it grow into the actual industry that it is today.”
Miller's programs helped teams reach four AFC Championship games, two NFC Championship games and four Super Bowls. He also coached in two Pro Bowls.
Honors have long followed his success. From the NFL Strength Coaches, he received the President's award in 1993, the Emrich-Riecke-Jones Award in 1998 and the NFL Strength Coach of the Year in 2004. Miller was also a 2007 recipient of the Legends in the Field award from the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association.
Early on, Miller discovered the impact strength training had on his own growth as a player.
“I've lifted weights all my life since I was about 13 years old,” he said. “It was something that instantaneously hit with me. It was so helpful to me, that I couldn't understand why everybody else wasn't able or willing to do that to help themselves too.”
Prior to coaching, Miller's hard work paid off with an outstanding collegiate playing career. As a ULM player, the El Dorado Ark., native helped lead the team to three straight winning seasons from 1966-68 and owned several receiving records when he finished playing. He was twice named all-conference and led the squad in receiving for three years. ULM named Miller to its Golden Anniversary team in 1981 and inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 1992.
“I had great high school and college coaching,” Miller said. “They pushed me in that way too. It didn't take a whole lot of nudging but they were ahead of their time.”
Miller began his strength coaching career journey at Lee Junior High School in Monroe and worked his way up. He went on to coach at Mississippi State, ULM and Alabama under Bear Bryant before moving to the Broncos in 1985, and then on to the Giants and the Falcons with Dan Reeves before finishing his career with the Raiders.
“I started out in junior high coaching and I'm proud of that,” Miller said. “I'm extremely proud of that because there aren't many people who started out in junior high to professionals.”
