Long Branch's Sam Mills To Be Honored By The New Orleans Saints

LONG BRANCH, NJ – Sam Mills, a graduate of Logn Branch High School who played 12 years in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers, will be posthumously inducted into the Saints’ Ring of Honor during their Dec. 2 game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Mills, who passed away in 2005 due to cancer, joined the Saints back in 1986, earning 4 Pro Bowl selections and was part of “The Dome Patrol,” one of the most revered linebacker groups in NFL history.

Mills will be the seventh inductee in the team’s Ring Of honor, joining former owner Tom Benson, kicker Morten Andersen, fellow “Dome Patrol” member Rickey Jackson, quarterback Archie Manning, tackle William Roaf, and defensive end Will Smith.

Mills is also a member of the Panthers’ Hall of Honor, Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, Saints’ Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, the Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey, and Saints’ All-50th Anniversary Team.

“Sam was as complete a player as I’ve been around. When I talk not just about physical ability and that’s certainly a big part of it, but I’m talking about character, leadership, being a team-oriented guy, work ethic, dependability, intelligence, everything,” Jim Mora, who was the head coach of the Saints during Mills’ time in New Orleans, said in a statement released by the Saints.

“For 12 years, he came in every day and gave it everything he had, mentally, physically, and emotionally. The players and coaches all knew that. I loved Sam Mills, and I can’t say enough good about him.”

For Long Branch High School athletic director Jason Corley, this latest honor shows the student-athletes at Long Branch that they can accomplish whatever they want.

“It brings a lot of exposure to our athletes and shows them that you can be more than a person from this community and be a beacon in this world,” Corely said to Patch.