University of Tennessee Athletics
Former Vol Bubba Miller Launches Media Career
July 17, 2003 | Football
July 17, 2003
Bubba Miller knows football. It's been his life since age 10. And now he gets to talk about it to thousands of people every week.
"The Bubba Miller Show" debuts Aug. 4 on Knoxville's ESPN 1180 (WVLZ-AM) with former Vol Miller hosting the two-hour program. The show will appear each Monday from 4-6 p.m. this fall and will be broadcast live from Tradewinds restaurant on North Peters Road. The professional football talk show will focus on each weekend's NFL games and preview the Monday night professional game, although Miller also plans to touch on the Vols' games as well.
The key aspect of the show is that it will be focused on professional football, despite Knoxville being known for its collegiate sports. But, as Miller says, football fans of any type like professional football. "It's a unique product that I'm bringing to Knoxville," says Miller, who started all but one game on the offensive line for the Volunteers from 1992-95 and was captain his senior year. "It's something fresh and something that's not going to compete with the shows that are already established."
Miller's show will be a content-driven show that will be informative to the listeners, he says. It will deal with a lot of facts, information and theory about professional football, rather than simply serving as a pure call-in show for listeners. Miller also plans to have guests that include a variety of former Vols who are now in the NFL. In fact, he plans to present the show from a player's perspective, rather than the views and insights from fans, coaches and administrators.
"I'm hoping to capitalize by using my expertise," he laughs. "I know things about the game that other people don't. I feel like I can provide a lot of insight to the game. And if people tune in and listen every week, I think they can learn something."
Miller's expertise includes six years in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles (1996-2001) at center. He appeared in the majority of the club's games before starting all 16 games in 2000. But in the 2001 preseason, Miller broke his leg and missed the entire season.
He spent 2002 with the New Orleans Saints, but reoccurring injuries kept him from playing. "I had a couple of pretty serious injuries that I just got tired of battling," he says of hanging up his cleats. "Everyone has their time and I felt like my time had come and gone. I knew it was time to move on. And when this opportunity arose, I decided to take it. This is a transition from professional football to broadcasting and I think it's the right thing for me to do."
Doug Mathews, managing partner of ESPN 1180, agrees with Miller. "I was looking for somebody with a Tennessee background and knowledge of college, SEC, Tennessee and professional football," he says. "Bubba is a former player and he's only been out of the pros for one year. He brings the ability of being able to talk about all those aspects."
Miller, however, isn't going into his new show without broadcasting experience. He worked for a NBC affiliate in Philadelphia as a television analyst while he was on the Eagles' injured reserve list. "That was the inspiration for me to go into the media," Miller says of his TV experience. He's also filled in on Mathews' show as a guest host and regularly appears with Tennessean sportswriter Chris Low on Thursdays from 4-6 on the radio waves. In fact, he'll continue that this fall and assist with Saturday pre-game shows for Tennessee football.
"He's very, very good on the radio," Mathews says. "We have high expectations of taking a show like this to Knoxville. I've got a lot of confidence in him."
Miller says he welcomes anyone to join him at Tradewinds on Aug. 24 for the show's debut. He's ready to talk football. And Knoxville's ready for him.
Josh Pate
