KUSA – Just because her son is a famous football player, doesn’t mean Gloria Miller isn’t like every other mom in this world.
Say something cross about her, watch out. Say something she doesn’t like about her child? There’s going to be hell to play.
Mrs. Miller unleashed her fury on Broncos’ general manager John Elway in an Instagram comment under her handle “@momofthemillenium."
“That’s a mom protecting her babies," Von Miller Sr. said by phone Friday.
Gloria Miller was responding to a local blog that was headlined, “Elway Talks Possible Von Trade.” This was in reference to Elway’s state-of-the-Broncos’ season-ending press conference Monday. Elway was asked, in a round-about way, if he would consider trading Miller.
Said Elway: “I think we’re going to visit all that. I think we have to look all the possibilities and get an evaluation of that. One thing that has to happen is we have to play better. Our great players have to play better, too. Again, when we’re going around and trying to assess blame—which we don’t, we’re trying to find solutions not assess blame. We’re trying to evaluate what went on and then find solutions. One of the solutions is that we’re going to need our core guys to play better. Von, he had a good year this year. Can Von play better? Yeah, I think Von can play better. That’s part of the new thing when that comes in with the next coach."
Elway did not say he would trade Miller. But he didn’t remove him from the “we’ll look at all possibilities” umbrella that many NFL coaches and executives do when asked about moving their star players.
The blog site, Broncos Report, cut up Elway’s comment to: “I think Von can play better … we have to look at all the possibilities.’’
This got the attention of Von Miller’s mom. She responded with: “Not because he’s my Son but, he’s the main reason Denver won the Super Bowl. Von’s NOT the problem the problem is Elway … EVERY QB he’s brought in was a fluke!! He wants to halfass pay the vets but wants them to perform at a high caliber. He has no clue on drafting at any position. He needs to work on an offensive line & QB. Trading Von isn’t the answer but best of luck with that. Elway has wasted more money on QBs than ANY TEAM IN THE NFL. I get it it’s easier to blame Von but it’s NOT HIM. #WhatupDallas #SendJerryJobysNumber
Afterwards, Gloria Miller contacted 9NEWS with this statement:
"The post earlier to my private account AFTER getting the trade timer/alert was from a MOTHER'S perspective which with me is, and always will be, to protect my Son.
"During the year, Vance (Joseph) made several references to Von being the issue or Von's playing being the reason the team lost particular games.
"Being fed up with the coaches blaming Von, I, being the mother I've been for almost 30 years, stood up for my son. Von can't rush the QB, stop the RB and cover the WR/TE, get the interception and score all by himself. He's one player on that team. So that's why I posted what I did to my social media page.''
Case Keenum could not be reached for comment. Elway was interviewing head coach candidate Mike Munchak at the time Gloria Miller’s comment created a stir.
9NEWS reached Von Miller, who declined comment. 9NEWS also reached out to Mr. Miller, Von's dad.
“I try to be as proactive as I possibly can by letting my family now there’s going to be things said, regardless," Von Miller Sr. said. “I try to keep my family prepared. A trade hadn’t entered my mind, but this is the world we live in. You can never say 100 percent something won’t happen.
“We would much rather Von spend the rest of his career in Denver, but we don’t have any control over it. And his mom feels the same way. With all honesty, we’re Denver fans for life. We’re Denver parents for life. But that’s the only control we have."
It’s perhaps worth pointing out Elway made Von Miller the league’s highest-paid defensive player following the outside linebacker’s heroic Super Bowl 50 performance with a six-year contract that averaged $19.083 million a year. Miller’s contract held up for two years as the richest in NFL defensive player history until both Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack were paid more prior to last season.
Miller’s contract was negotiated between his agent Joby Branion – who Mrs. Miller referred to in her second hashtag comment -- and Elway. Jerry is Jerry Jones, owner of the Miller’s hometown Dallas Cowboys.
In the first three seasons of his large contract, Von Miller has recorded 13.5, 10.0 and 14.5 sacks, made the Pro Bowl all three years, was named first-team All Pro in 2016 and was second-team All Pro at both linebacker and edge rusher this year.
(Update: This article initially said blog was from Bleacher Wire. It was from Bleacher Report).
