Ken Miller, one of the most beloved coaches in Saskatchewan Roughriders history, has died at age 82, the CFL team announced Wednesday.
Miller was battling cancer.
Hired by Kent Austin as offensive co-ordinator prior to the 2007 season, Miller helped the team win the Grey Cup that year before being promoted to the top role when Austin took a job at the University of Mississippi.
Miller guided the Roughriders in all three of his full seasons as head coach, including Grey Cup losses in 2009 and ’10.
The 2009 game is best remembered as the 13th-man game. The Montreal Alouettes missed a field goal on the final play of the game that seemingly sealed victory for the Roughriders, but Saskatchewan was called for too many men.
Alouettes kicker Damon Duval then hit on his second chance to give Montreal a 28-27 win.
Saskatchewan rallied around the team after the heartbreak, giving the Roughriders a warm welcome upon their return to Regina. Miller accepted the blame, but the team never revealed which player was not supposed to be on the field.
Miller resigned as coach after the 2010 season and maintained his position in the front office as vice president of football operations. He returned to coach the final 10 games of 2011 after Greg Marshall was fired following a 1-7 start.
The Oregon-born Miller came to the CFL as quarterback coach of the Toronto Argonauts in 2002 after a long run as a coach at the University of Redlands in California.
Miller finished his career as an offensive consultant with the Montreal Alouettes, who hired him in 2017 after he spent six years out of football.