NEW ORLEANS — Sam Mills, one of the mainstays of a dominant Saints linebacking corps known as the Dome Patrol has been selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame it was announced Thursday night.
Mills will be enshrined with the rest of the class of 2022 at the Hall of Fame weekend in August.
Mills will join fellow Dome Patroler Rickey Jackson in the Hall. Mills, who passed away in 2005 after a battle with cancer, will be inducted posthumously.
“Sam Mills is one of our team’s most decorated players in franchise history and was an important part of one of the greatest defenses in NFL history,” said Saints Owner Gayle Benson. “Sam was the heart and soul of the team, possessing leadership qualities that allowed him to make a great impact both on and off the field.
Mills was very small for a linebacker, standing at only 5’9”, but he made a huge impact. He was a four time Pro Bowl selection and All Pro selection twice.
Mills’ former head coach Jim Mora once told a story about how fellow coaches told him he should cut Mills because of his lack of size and Mora replying each time that he was the “best player on the field.”
“I coached Sam Mills for 12 years and he exemplified everything that you would want in a player," said former Saints Head Coach Jim Mora, who served as Mills’ head coach for nine seasons from 1986-94 in New Orleans and also coached him with the USFL’s Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars from 1983-85. “He achieved as close to his potential as any player I ever coached. He was special and his character, leadership and work ethic were second to none. Sam is truly deserving of this honor and I am so happy for his family and friends and proud of the legacy he leaves behind.”
The vaunted Dome Patrol included Mills, Jackson along with Pat Swilling and Vaughan Johnson, arguably one of the best collection of linebacking talent ever assembled on a single team.
With Mills calling the defensive signals, he led the Saints to their first ever playoff appearance in 1987.
