Some current NFL players are in Indianapolis this week during the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, honing skills for potential future jobs after their careers end. For most, that entails getting camera time to see if they might transition into the media one day.
Not Von Miller, though.
He's in Indy to work on a much different post-playing plan: general manager.
In an interview with Mike Klis of 9News this week, Miller said he's in Indy hoping to meet with GMs and other front-office people to better understand how teams are run.
Miller noted that he's wanted to be a GM since college, so he came to Indy this week to gain the experience he doesn't have.
"So this is my second time really feeling like that," he said. "It's what I want to do. I don't have any experience. I know what a great football team looks like. I know what a winning football team looks like. A great staff, great equipment guys, great athletic trainers. I know what that looks like, I know what it takes to build those teams but that's it.
"So I'm here to meet with guys, for the guys to give me instructions on what to do with my right foot next and what to do with my left foot next. And make the first steps to making this happen."
Being a future exec is something Miller has discussed before. During the season, he discussed it on The Pat McAfee Show while rehabbing from his torn ACL.
While some players make lofty declarations then never follow through, Miller showing up to Indy to learn the minutia of the offseason process signals an earnestness about building his experience for a second career.
Miller said he wants to follow in the footsteps of other former players who became GMs, like John Elway, who drafted the edge rusher in 2011.
"To be honest the dream it really started with John,'' Miller said. "To see a former player come back in the league and be a GM and win a Super Bowl as a player and win a Super Bowl as a GM? Oh my gosh. That's where the dream really started. John Elway won a Super Bowl on the field and off the field. He's the G.O.A.T.
"And then you leave and you go to L.A. and you're around Les Snead and you think you can be a cool GM, too. And then you leave there and go to the Buffalo Bills with Brandon Beane and you think, this job is really attractive. What do I have to do next to make this happen?"
It's a question the 33-year-old Miller is seeking to help answer this week in Indy.
