Keith Joseph Millard (born March 18, 1962) is an American former professional

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player who played as a

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for nine seasons for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

, the

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, the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

and the

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from 1985 to 1993 in the

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(NFL).

Early and college career

Keith Millard was born in Pleasanton, California. He was a tight end and linebacker at Foothill High School in Pleasanton. Keith played

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Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

. As a freshman Millard played tight end but was moved to defensive tackle as a sophomore, where he started first time as a junior. Millard was voted first-team All-Pac-10 as a senior and won the Morris Trophy as the Pac-10's top defensive lineman.

Professional career

Keith Millard was drafted by the Vikings based on a recommendation from their scout Don Deisch in the first round of the

1984 NFL Draft The 1984 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 1–2, 1984, at the Omni Park Cent ...

and played one season in the USFL. He was selected to the

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in 1988 and 1989. He held the NFL record for most sacks in a single season by a defensive tackle with 18 in 1989, and was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year that season. His record was broken by Aaron Donald in 2018. The following season he suffered a major knee injury in a week 4 contest versus Tampa Bay. The injury effectively ended his time in Minnesota, and although he continued to play for a handful of seasons with various teams, he was never again as dominant of a force. Keith's large stature was a huge asset in bulking up the Minnesota Vikings defensive line. His All-Pro honors and record-setting sacks make him a Minnesota Vikings great. Millard played in 93 games during his career, making 58 sacks, and two

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s. Millard was voted among the top 50 players to ever play for the Minnesota Vikings In 2010.

NFL career statistics

Coaching career

After retirement as a player, Keith Millard went on to coaching. He coached at the college level, in the

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with the

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, and the

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, before getting a job with the Denver Broncos' coaching staff as the club's defensive line coach/pass rush specialist. He was in charge of creating and implementing all pass rush techniques used in the Broncos' defensive scheme. Under Millard, the Broncos had one of the toughest defenses in the league. Millard coached the Oakland Raiders defensive line from 2005 to 2007. In 2009, Millard was hired as the defensive coordinator for the Merced College Blue Devils. On February 8, 2011, it was announced that Millard, along with Grady Stretz, will be a defensive line coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, specializing in pass rush. In 2012, Millard was hired by the Titans as an assistant coach.

Notes and references

He coached at Merced College in 2009

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Millard, Keith 1962 births Living people American football defensive tackles Washington State Cougars football players Jacksonville Bulls players Minnesota Vikings players Green Bay Packers players Seattle Seahawks players Philadelphia Eagles players National Conference Pro Bowl players San Francisco Demons coaches Denver Broncos coaches Oakland Raiders coaches National Football League Defensive Player of the Year Award winners Foothill High School (Pleasanton, California) alumni Players of American football from Alameda County, California