By Kyle T. Mosley | SI
Samuel “Sam” Davis Mills, Jr. did not have the prototype stature of the legendary Chicago Bears linebacker Dick Butkus. Nor did Mills possess the raw power of the great Baltimore Ravens Ray Lewis. He rivals Chicago middle linebackers Mike Singletary and Brian Urlacher in intensity and instincts, respectively. Sam Mills was a smart, courageous and tough football player.
Mills patrolled the then Louisiana Superdome turf as a New Orleans Saints player for nine seasons with his fellow brothers of The Dome Patrol. Sam Mills left New Orleans and continued as the unquestioned leader of the Carolina Panthers defense. Mills’ departure hurt the Saints organization for years. Truthfully, the 2008 Saints-Jets trade for Jonathan Vilma helped to restore a true leadership role at the middle linebacker position in New Orleans since Mills.
If you circle the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, you will encounter the statues of the past owner Tom Benson and Saints legend Steve Gleason’s “Rebirth”. Yet, noticeably missing is a statue of The Dome Patrol. NFL experts considered them as the greatest group of linebackers in NFL history. I believe one day Mrs. Benson and her staff will immortalize the likenesses of Sam Mills, Rickey Jackson, Pat Swilling, and Vaughan Johnson on the Superdome’s landscape.
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