Del Miller, who has worked with some of the most prolific offenses in K-State history, will be entering his 16th season overall at Kansas State in 2012 which includes four different stops in Manhattan under head coach Bill Snyder. Miller serves as the Wildcats' co-offensive coordinator while also tutoring the quarterbacks.
Last season, Miller led an offense that saw quarterback Collin Klein set a new Big 12 record and NCAA record by a quarterback with 27 rushing touchdowns. Klein surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark on the season as well, and became one of the nation's top players in 2011 under Miller's guidance. K-State maintained one of the topoffenses in the Big 12 in 2011 en route to a 10-3 record and a berth in the 2012 AT&T Cotton Bowl.
In 2010,Miller helped the Wildcat offense average 33.6 points per game en route to the program's first bowl appearance since 2006. K-State was also ranked among the top 10 teams in the country in total red zone efficiency and No. 1 nationally in TD percentage in the red zone. The Cats' 47-percent conversion rating on third down ranked second in the league, while they were also the least penalized offense in the Big 12. Quarterback Carson Coffman recorded the fifth-highest efficiency rating in school history in 2010 after completing 65-percent of his passes for a passing efficiency rating of 143.1.
In 2009, Miller ushered in a new quarterback as Grant Gregory took over the offense and led the Cats to a 6-6 mark and a second-place finish in the North. Behind Gregory's leadership, the Cats were one win away in the final game of the regular season from advancing to the Big 12 Championship.
Prior to coming back to K-State in 2009, Miller was the offensive coordinator at San Diego State from 2006-08. In his final season there, the Aztecs were led by two redshirt freshmen in quarterback Ryan Lindley and wide receiver Vincent Brown. Lindley threw for 2,653 yards and ranked 40th nationally in total offense, while Brown, an All-Mountain West selection by Phil Steele, ranked 44th nationally with 5.33 receptions per game and hauled in 64 catches for 631 yards and five touchdowns in 2008.
In 2007, the Aztecs ranked 28th nationally in passing offense, throwing for over 3,000 yards, while SDSU also led the Mountain West Conference in red zone offense, scoring nearly 90-percent of the time. Quarterback Kevin O'Connell became the first Aztec to lead the team in both rushing (408 yards) and passing (3,063 yards), ranking in the top 30 nationally in passing average and total offense. He was one of three Aztec offensive players taken in the 2008 NFL Draft and currently plays for the New York Jets.
One of the first hires made by Snyder when he first came to K-State in 1989, Miller returned to Manhattan in 2001 as offensive coordinator for his third stint on the staff after serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oklahoma State for the 2000 season.
Miller has played a major role in the building of two major college programs, first at Iowa under the legendary Hayden Fry from 1978-88 before becoming a member of Snyder's original Kansas State coaching staff. He has coached in 14 bowl games in his 30 years as a Division I assistant, including six at Kansas State.
Miller returned to Kansas State in 1999 to serve as a graduate assistant, helping the Wildcats to a third consecutive 11-win season and a Big 12 North Division co-Championship. After a year at Oklahoma State, he returned to Manhattan in 2001 to serve as the assistant director of football operations before being elevated to defensive ends coach in 2002.
Miller began his second stint as the school's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2003. He helped the Wildcats rank ninth nationally in both scoring and rushing offense and 17th in total offense en route to capturing their first conference championship in nearly 70 years. The offense was one of just seven in the country to average over 200 yards per game in both rushing and passing. Miller was instrumental in developing quarterback Ell Roberson, who at one time was the school's all-time leader in total offense and passing touchdowns.
With the opportunity to run his own program, Miller left Kansas State in 1995 to take over as head coach at Southwest Missouri State. He guided the Bears to a 21-23 record in four seasons, including their first winning mark in three years in 1996 at 7-4.
Miller followed Snyder to Kansas State in 1989, serving as the program's offensive coordinator as well as quarterbacks and wide receivers coach. After two seasons, he was elevated to assistant head coach/recruiting coordinator for the 1991 season. Later that year, Miller helped the Wildcats post their first winning season in nine years at 7-4. K-State would go on to break the school record for wins in 1993 and 1994 with nine plus advance to back-to-back bowl games for the first time in school history. Miller coached six all-league players from 1989 to 1994, including two-time all-league picks Chad May and Michael Smith.
Miller began his coaching career in 1972 when he became head coach at Plainfield High School in Plainfield, Iowa. In 1975, he left to become the defensive coordinator at Eagle Grove High School in Eagle Grove, Iowa. He then served as head coach at Eagle Grove from 1977-78. A native of Marengo, Iowa, Miller played and graduated from Central College in Pella, Iowa. He earned his bachelor's degree in physical education in 1972 and received his master's degree in physical education in 1976. Miller is married to the former Jan Schafbuch. The couple has three sons, Troy, Todd and Tad and a daughter-in-law, Maria (Tad's wife).
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