Just Give Me a Chance to Fail

The inspiring story of NFL linebacker Sam Mills, who outplayed his size on three professional football franchises, earning him a place in the Hall of Fame.

Despite his on-field success and chiseled physique, Sam Mills faced hurdles at every level because of his stature: his first high school coach initially wouldn’t play him, no major college would recruit him, and the NFL wouldn’t draft him—or even take him on as an undrafted free agent. But his irrepressible passion for the game would not be denied, driving him to blaze a unique career path.

Veteran journalist and Hall of Fame selector Paul Domowitch brings Mills’ extraordinary life and the fast-evolving era he played in into vivid focus. From his humble origins to his emergence as an all-star champion in the startup USFL, to becoming the centerpiece of the legendary Dome Patrol defense that transformed the NFL’s struggling New Orleans Saints into a contender, to his pinnacle as the All-Pro leader of the expansion Carolina Panthers—where his foundational contributions are commemorated today in a retired jersey and a statue outside the stadium.

Along the way, Domowitch brings to life the players, coaches, and teams on whom Mills left his mark before his tragic death from cancer—and his role in transforming the linebacker position during the fast-evolving era of the 1980s and 1990s that helped shape today’s pass-focused NFL.

Gripping, insightful, and uplifting, Just Give Me a Chance to Fail is a book for every fan of professional football—and anyone who believes success begins with simply getting a chance.