The new special teams coordinator for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers says he didn’t realize, at least at first, that the announcement he’d accepted the coaching gig was also an announcement that he’d retired as a player.
Mike Miller, the veteran Bombers fullback the club appointed to the special teams role Monday, told 680 CJOB’s The Start that while he knew he was making the transition from player to coach, the term “retirement” hadn’t really come to mind.
“There’s a few people that sent me a nice text message and said, ‘Congrats on the new position and a great career … and on the retirement,'” Miller said.
“When I took the position, I didn’t think it through that it would also be my retirement as a player.”
The move seems like a natural one for Miller, the Canadian Football League’s all-time leader in special teams tackles and a three-time Grey Cup champion.
He missed the 2023 season due to an injury in training camp, but his work with the team in an off-field role helped make the transition fairly seamless.
“It was a pretty rough season last year, finding out pretty early what the injury was with my neck — and I was hopeful all season there would be some kind of solution to get me back out on the field,” he said.
“Once that was kind of put to bed, that there wasn’t going to be any chance of my returning, there definitely was a grieving process — there was quite a mental strain on me and my family.
“It’s exciting now that I get to stay in the football world in a different role, and a lot of people say that coaching is the next best thing to playing, so I’m looking forward to that.”
The New Brunswick native, 34, has been with the Bombers since 2017 after a career with Edmonton that included a championship in 2015. The culture here in Winnipeg, he said, played a large role in his decision to stay on after his playing career ended.
“(The Bombers are) an organization that is definitely the flagship of the CFL,” he said.
“Top to bottom, really good people … and they do a really good job of making people feel comfortable and making their families feel comfortable.
“The city of Winnipeg embraces the Bombers like no other city, and the fans are absolutely unreal. They’ve been filling out the stadium, they support (the team) wholeheartedly. It was an easy decision because it’s so comfortable. … They really do treat you like you’re family.”
Comments