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Know My Name: Mike Miller, Vegas Vipers Offensive Lineman

Published on April 6, 2023 under XFL (XFL) News Release


Weekdays in the fall were busy for Mike Miller. The mathematics teacher at Washburn Rural High School in Topeka, Kan., taught six classes during the day plus worked with the football team as its offensive line and tight ends coach.

During the school day, he did have a prep period to himself where he could, among other things, plan his future lessons and grade papers. He was lucky that was when Vegas Vipers offensive line coach Bob Wylie called him for their first conversation.

It was an abnormal prep period that day to say the least. Instead of planning a test for his AP Statistics students or preparing a mathematics lesson, Miller spent 30 minutes on the phone with Wylie talking about the upcoming 2023 XFL season.

Vegas had drafted Miller the previous day. He was excited for the opportunity to continue playing football. But he also didn't want to give up his other passion.

So while Miller has been practicing and playing with Vegas, he has also continued to remotely teach his six classes.

"I've been around a lot of players," said Wylie, who has coached in college, the NFL and the XFL for over 40 years. "He is a good story. In my career - my whole career, not just professionally - I've never had a player do that. Ever. And on game day, he goes out and plays."

Miller attended Division II Washburn University in Topeka, where he was a four-year starter at three different spots on the offensive line. After graduating, he spent a few years as a graduate assistant and trying to fulfill his dream of playing in the NFL.

He played in the XFL in 2020 for St. Louis but after the pandemic canceled the season, Miller moved on with life and jumped into something else he always wanted to do.

"My mom was a teacher growing up and my dad was in the Air Force," Miller said. "I didn't really want to do the Air Force route. My brother did but that wasn't really for me. I always wanted to be a teacher."

He originally wanted to be a biology teacher but when he got to college, he found math much more interesting.

He landed at Washburn Rural for his student teaching position and ended up back there as a math teacher and football coach.

Over the summer, he heard the XFL was coming back and players who played in 2020 would be given the opportunity to be in the draft.

Miller needed to figure out what he wanted to do. He consulted with his wife. He talked with his friends in the school district like Colter Scott, who coaches three sports at Washburn Rural and is an adaptive physical education teacher. He wanted to know what they thought, whether it could work out.

After talking it through, he discussed the potential opportunity with the head principal to let him know he wanted to pursue the opportunity.

The administration was on board.

"It's been amazing that the high school administration and even at the district office have been very willing to work with him," Scott said. "I think a little bit at the same time, the administration cares a little bit about showing and proving to kids that you can still work hard and go get what you want."

Scott credits the relationships and trust Miller built before leaving as critical to giving him the chance to do pursue this goal. He also admitted online learning during the pandemic likely helped get people on board more quickly than what might have been the case a few years ago.

While he had approval to go, Miller still had to get back into playing shape and prepare for the draft. It was no guarantee he'd be selected.

He had to find time in the fall to work out in between teaching and coaching.

It all came to a head when Miller was drafted in the sixth round of the offensive line phase of the 2023 XFL Draft.

"A lot of people put themselves in situations where they don't want to do something so they don't," Miller said. "I'm passionate about both so I think that helps increase my work ethic and makes me want to make sure I'm staying ahead of the game."

Working two full-time jobs is never easy. But Miller is making it work.

He said his normal day of teaching and practicing starts at 5 a.m. when he makes his cup of coffee. He spends the next few hours making sure everything is prepared for that day's lesson.

Miller's math classes are being taught in what he describes as a flipped classroom and an online college class. Students have a weekly checklist of items to accomplish and videos of Miller teaching to watch. There is a former mathematics teacher subbing inside the classroom to help the students with any questions they may have in the moment. Miller also has Zoom times available for students to get direct help from him.

Most of the students, he said, are doing a good job staying caught up on everything.

"I've really learned a lot about time management down here (at the XFL Hub) being a teacher and a player at the same time," Miller said. "I think teaching is gonna be a lot easier for me from here on out just from all the things I've had to manage while I've been down here."

After class prep, Miller will head off to treatment before going to team meetings from 8:45-11. Then comes lunch and practice in the afternoon.

If there's no lifting session post-practice, Miller will head home. He is not staying in the team hotel, instead living off-site with his wife, who he said has been extremely helpful to him during this journey.

It's then meetings from 5-6, dinner and then more schoolwork if needed. Hopefully, he said, the "very long days" are done by 9 p.m.

"I don't know how much sleep he is truly getting," Scott said.

But it's that type of work ethic that stands out to a football lifer like Wylie.

Wylie has been the position coach for two Hall of Famers in his career. He said Miller stacks up with them in terms of his dedication.

"His work ethic is absolutely awesome," Wylie said. "He has some of the best work habits that I have been around."

That work ethic and dedication makes an impact in the offensive line room.

Wylie calls him one of the room's leaders, if not the leader of the group, but also as close to an assistant position coach you could get in the league. When a younger player asks what he should do, Wylie tells him to look at Miller and follow his lead.

Fellow offensive lineman Tony Adams - who spent this past fall as a teacher for the first time teaching financial planning - says that Miller is never afraid to ask clarifying questions to clear up gray areas.

And when it comes to game day, Wylie and Adams say Miller knows exactly what's going on.

"It's really cool to have someone on the line with you that if something may be a little haywire, he knows how to calm things down and really communicate well," Adams said. "Especially being a teacher, it's like second nature to him."

With Vegas already eliminated from playoff contention, Miller said he will quickly head back to Topeka after the final three games. The AP Statistics exam, after all, is May 5 and Miller wants to be there if he can to help his students prep.

He will be returning to a community that has been rooting for him. In one early season game, Miller was called for a penalty. But the announcer on the broadcast talked about Miller and how he still teaches at Washburn Rural. It turned a forgettable penalty into an unforgettable moment for the students watching the game.

Their high school, their teacher and his passion for them had been mentioned on national television.

In the biggest sign of what he means to his students, Scott said there is a group of at least 15 students hoping to make the approximately five-hour trek east this weekend to watch Miller play for the Vipers on Saturday in St. Louis.

Scott said that effort by the students - and their parents - to get out and watch him in person illustrates the kind of leader he is and the type of connection he has built within the community.

"They're excited and I know they're watching him each week," Scott said. "They want him to be playing and making it to the end."

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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