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Jim Miller (quarterback)

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For other people named Jim Miller, see Jim Miller (disambiguation).

Jim Miller
refer to caption
Miller in 2010
No. 14, 16, 15, 13
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1971-02-09) February 9, 1971 (age 53)
Grosse Pointe, Michigan, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school:Waterford Kettering (Waterford, Michigan)
College:Michigan State (1990–1993)
NFL draft:1994 / round: 6 / pick: 178
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
TD-INT:36–31
Passing yards:6,387
Passer rating:75.2
Stats at Pro Football Reference

James Donald Miller (born February 9, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Chicago Bears (1998–2002). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans and was selected in the sixth round of the 1994 NFL draft. Following his playing career, Miller became a football analyst on radio and television.

Early life

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Miller attended Waterford Kettering High School in Waterford, Michigan, and graduated in 1989. He started as the Captain's varsity quarterback his sophomore year and held that position through his senior year.[citation needed] Miller also played baseball and basketball.[1]

College career

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Miller was a starting quarterback for the Michigan State Spartans for three years, beginning as a sophomore.[2] As a senior, he led the 1993 Spartans to a 6–5 regular season record, and a berth in the Liberty Bowl, which they lost to Louisville, 18–7. He finished with a final record of 14–24, [citation needed] and passed for a total of 5037 yards.[3] Miller then played in the 1994 Senior Bowl, passing for 75 yards (7-for-10) and one interception.[4]

Professional career

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Miller was drafted in the sixth round of the 1994 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, 178th overall.[5] He broke a thumb in training camp, and missed most of the 1994 season.[6] In the spring of 1995, while still under contract with the Steelers, Miller was assigned to the Frankfurt Galaxy of the World League of American Football in order to get playing time; he played briefly with the Galaxy before suffering a wrist injury.[6] As one of four quarterbacks on the Steelers roster in 1995, Miller would serve as the third-string quarterback behind Neil O'Donnell and Mike Tomczak and ahead of rookie Kordell Stewart, who unlike Miller was active for games under his "Slash" role while Miller was the team's designated emergency quarterback.

Following O'Donnell's departure in free agency in 1996, Miller competed with Tomczak and Stewart for the starting job and won, but was benched midway through the team's first game and Tomczak largely started for the rest of the season, with Miller demoted back to third-string behind Stewart. Miller ultimately appeared in a total of five games with the Steelers, who released him prior to the 1997 regular season in favor of Mike Quinn.[7]

During the 1997 season, Miller was briefly with the Jacksonville Jaguars,[8][9] before joining the Atlanta Falcons[10] — he did not appear in a game for either team. Miller next signed with the Detroit Lions in March 1998, but was released by the team in August, prior to the start of the regular season.[11][12] He then nearly had a contract with the Dallas Cowboys, however the Cowboys changed their mind when Mike Quinn became available.[13][14] In December 1998, Miller signed with the Chicago Bears, following a season-ending injury to Erik Kramer.[15]

It was not until 1999, in his second year with the Bears, that Miller earned a starting job. That promising season was cut short for Miller when he became the first quarterback to be suspended by the NFL for violation of its substance abuse policy. Miller contended he did not read the label on an over-the-counter dietary supplement containing the steroid nandrolone, a banned substance under the NFL's drug policy.[16] He was suspended for four games at the end of the 1999 season and lost about $100,000 in pay.

Upon his return, Miller became established as the starter for the Bears' brief playoff run in 2001, their first berth since 1994. With the second-best record in the NFC and tied for the second-best record in the NFL along with the Pittsburgh Steelers at 13–3, the Chicago Bears were awarded a first-round bye. This was due in large part to the Bears top-ranked defense as well as the ball control offense Miller led. On January 19, 2002, the Chicago Bears met the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Divisional Playoffs with Miller as quarterback. The Eagles were ahead 6–0 early in the second quarter when Miller threw an interception; during the runback, Eagles' defensive end Hugh Douglas delivered a hit to Miller that resulted in a separated shoulder; Douglas was later fined $35,000 by the NFL.[17][18] Miller had passed for only 23 yards (3-for-5, with 1 interception) in what was his lone playoff appearance, and Shane Matthews, who replaced Miller for the rest of the game, only passed for 66 yards (8-for-17, with 2 interceptions), as the Bears lost to the Eagles, 33–19.[19]

Miller lost his position as starting quarterback in 2002. Although he did not make a pass attempt thereafter, he received a Super Bowl ring as the backup quarterback for the 2004 New England Patriots.[20] Before the 2005 season, Miller signed with the New York Giants, but was released after having hip surgery and receiving an injury settlement.[21]

Career statistics

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WLAF statistics

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Year Team GP Passing
Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Rtg
1995 Frankfurt Galaxy — 23 43 53.5 236 5.5 1 1 89.6
Career[22] — 23 43 53.5 236 5.5 1 1 89.6

NFL statistics

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Year Team Games Passing
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Rtg
1995 PIT 3 0 — 32 56 57.1 397 7.1 2 5 53.9
1996 PIT 2 1 0–1 13 25 52.0 123 4.9 0 0 65.9
1999 CHI 5 3 1–2 110 174 63.2 1,242 7.1 7 6 83.5
2000 CHI 3 2 1–1 47 82 57.3 382 4.8 1 1 68.2
2001 CHI 14 13 11–2 228 395 57.7 2,299 5.8 13 10 74.9
2002 CHI 10 8 2–6 180 314 57.3 1,944 6.2 13 9 77.5
Career[23] 37 27 15–12 610 1,046 58.3 6,387 6.1 36 31 75.2

Broadcasting career

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Jim Miller (right) with J. J. Watt (center) and co-host Pat Kirwan, 2019

Miller served as the color commentator for Michigan State football radio broadcasts and hosted the weekly post-game call-in show from 2006 until he took a communications position with the Bears in 2013; he was replaced by Jason Strayhorn.[24] Miller currently serves as a studio analyst on Bears Postgame Live for NBC Sports Chicago, having replaced former Bears legend Richard Dent in 2007.[25] Miller is the current co-host of "Movin' the Chains" along with Pat Kirwan on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Channel 88.[26] Miller and Kirwan are featured as analysts in Longshot, a story mode within Madden NFL 18.[27]

References

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  1. ^ Caputo, Pat (July 29, 2012). "After Waterford Kettering, MSU and playing in NFL, Jim Miller still making his football mark". The Oakland Press. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  2. ^ Ebling, Jack (October 1, 1991). "QB or not QB". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  3. ^ "Jim Miller". Sports Reference. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  4. ^ "Miller sees duty in Senior Bowl". Lansing State Journal. January 24, 1994. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  5. ^ "1994 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Steelers QB hurt in World League". News Record. North Hills, Pennsylvania. April 25, 1995. Retrieved January 28, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Pittsburgh cuts backup QB Miller". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. August 24, 1997. Retrieved January 28, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Ferguson, Doug (September 3, 1997). "Johnson's status is up in air". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. Associated Press. Retrieved January 28, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Ferguson, Doug (September 24, 1997). "QB-rich Jaguars release Miller". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. Retrieved January 28, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Falcons sign Jim Miller". Lansing State Journal. October 28, 1997. Retrieved January 28, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Lions sign MSU's Miller as backup quarterback". Times Herald. Port Huron, Michigan. March 3, 1998. Retrieved January 28, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Around the NFL". Los Angeles Times. August 25, 1998. Retrieved January 28, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Cowboys sign quarterback Miller". The Monitor. McAllen, Texas. September 9, 1998. Retrieved January 28, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Miller paid". Albuquerque Journal. September 12, 1998. Retrieved January 28, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "NFL". Detroit Free Press. December 2, 1998. Retrieved January 28, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Isaacson, Melissa (December 1, 1999). "NFL suspends Bears QB". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 28, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "2001 WK 19 NFC Division Playoff Philadelphia Eagles 12–5 @ Chicago Bears 13–3". Archived from the original on December 13, 2021 – via YouTube.
  18. ^ "Hit on Miller costs $35,000". The Dispatch. Moline, Illinois. Associated Press. January 24, 2002. Retrieved January 28, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Eagles Playoff Replay (box score)". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. January 20, 2002. Retrieved January 28, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Fitzgerald, Joe (January 28, 2018). "Fitzgerald: Behind Patriots success, there are some lessons to be learned". Boston Herald. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  21. ^ Altavilla, John (May 18, 2005). "QB Miller Released By Giants". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. Associated Press. Retrieved January 28, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Jim Miller Statistics". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  23. ^ "Jim Miller Stats". pro-football-reference.com.
  24. ^ Charboneau, Matt (May 16, 2013). "Michigan State radio analyst Jim Miller takes job with Bears". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  25. ^ Jim Miller's profile Archived February 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine at ESPN.com
  26. ^ "SiriusXM NFL Radio – Shows". siriusxm.com. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  27. ^ Vazquez, Suriel (September 4, 2017). "Madden 18's Longshot Made Me Care About Football". Game Informer. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.

Further reading

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