Mel Mills joined the TIU Football coaching staff in January of 2023 as the eighth head coach in the program's history.
Mills comes to TIU from Lafayette, Indiana where he served as Director of Player Development at Purdue University for nearly 18 months. His responsibilities included preparing student athletes for personal, academic and athletic developmental success. Mills also brings a wealth of coaching experience, having coached at all levels of the NCAA, including building a program from the ground up for the Division III Florida Atlantic University. Most recently, he served as assistant head coach, defensive line coach, and academics coordinator at Kentucky Wesleyan College from 2019 to 2021.
As a player, Mills competed four seasons for the University of Louisville (‘88-’92) as a defensive lineman under the leadership of Howard Schnellenberger. His senior year he served as team captain and at the end of his career was named the team’s Most Valuable Defensive Lineman, while ranking 10th in all-time sacks in program history. Following graduation in 1992, he returned to serve as defensive graduate assistant to the Cardinals for one season before moving to another season as defensive GA at the University of Oklahoma.
In 1999, Mills was hired in his first full-time role as defensive line coach, once again working under Schnellenberger to develop the newly formed program. Mills was on staff for five seasons, including during the team’s first semifinal run in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs in 2003.Â
Mills took on his first head coaching role in 2005 at Becker College in Worcester, Massachusetts after serving one season as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. He was heavily involved in revamping the program after back to back winless seasons and aided the team to its first wins in 2007.
Since his first head coaching stint in 2005, Mills has served in a variety of other positions and locations, influencing the defensive line of high schools in Florida and Indiana, as well as the collegiate ranks at Franklin College and Kentucky Wesleyan College before his most recent role as Director of Player Development at Purdue University.
Mills graduated from the University of Louisville with a degree in Police Administration and a minor in sociology. He will be moving to the Chicagoland area with his wife Brigitte and two dogs, Buster and Banjo. Mills loves his family who are his avid support system. He has two adult children, Imani K. and Mel T. Jr.. In his free time, Mills enjoys playing video games, watching basketball or football, going on bike rides and eating his favorite food, chicken.
