Keith Millard

By Chad Hollingsworth
Love of Sports Correspondent

Granted, Keith Millard came about 15 years after the Purple People Eaters terrified NFL quarterbacks in the early 1970s.

However, I’m guessing Alan Page and Carl Eller watched Millard with the Minnesota Vikings and thought he could have been a great addition to their old school club.

Drafted by the Vikings with the 13th pick in the first round of the 1984 NFL Draft, Millard actually went to the USFL for a year before joining the Vikings in 1985. His timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

Minnesota went 3-13 in 1984 and their defense badly needed a guy to step in and become a force. Randy Holloway led the 1984 Vikes with five sacks. Nothing against Holloway, but that number definitely needs to be higher on an NFL defense.

So, when Millard joined up with the Vikings, he only started five of the 16 games on the schedule. He gave them a glimpse as to what he was capable of from the nose tackle position, by running up 11 sacks that season and helping the Vikings improve to 7-9.

The next season, the Vikings moved Millard to right defensive tackle and saw production again. He rang up 10.5 sacks and moved the team one step closer to the playoffs by helping them to a 9-7 record.

The Vikings made the playoffs in the strike-affected 1987 season. Millard was quiet, with only three and a half sacks in nine games, but helped the Vikings reach the NFC Championship against the Redskins.

They also earned a playoff berth in 1988 with Millard earning a Pro Bowl appearance with eight sacks in 15 games. Unfortunately, the Vikings lost to the 49ers in the divisional playoffs.

Millard’s 1989 season is the one that really stands out, and it still holds up as a barometer for defensive tackles today. That year, he recorded an astounding 18 sacks, which is still a record to this day for a defensive tackle. The Vikings earned a playoff rematch with the 49ers after going 10-6 in the regular season. Unfortunately, the result was the same, and the Vikings again couldn’t advance further than the divisional playoffs.

Millard, though, deservedly received high marks for his performance that season. Obviously, he was going to go to another Pro Bowl, and he also earned the 1989 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award.

When the 1990 season started, the optimism created by his dominant 1989 season was crushed with a knee injury early in the season. Millard was unable to reach the same level of play from 1985-89 with stints with the Seahawks, Packers and Eagles.

Millard ended his career with 58 sacks and two interceptions in 93 games and is currently the defensive line coach of the Oakland Raiders. He also coached for the Broncos.

While the Vikings have yet to field a current version of the Purple People Eaters, there was a period of time in the 1980s when Millard was arguably the best defensive tackle in the game. Hence, the Purple People Eaters became a solo act for a few years.

This Old School Love goes out to Keith Millard for his leading role on the Vikings defense.