Bryan Mills enters his third season with Eastern Oregon Football in 2022 as the Defensive Coordinator. He was tabbed to lead the Mountaineers defense in April 2020. It his Mills' second stint with EOU as he served as the Defensive Backs Coach back in 2016.Â
Mills' responsibilities will include assisting the head coach in all facets of the program to develop an elite NAIA football program that will be competitive and help advance the team in competition, academics and in the community. Mills brings more than seven years of experience to EOU, having served as a football coach in three different levels of college football. He has been involved in college football as a player and/or coach since 2010.
Since his arrival ahead of the 2020 campaign, Mills has had three Frontier Conference Defensive Player of the Year award winners. Chase Van Wyck earned the honor twice, 2020 and 2021, while Sage DeLong shared the award with Van Wyck in 2021. Under Mills' guidance, EOU's defense has tallied nine All-Conference selections and four All-America awards since 2020.
In 2021, EOU once again garnered the Frontier Conference Defensive Player of the Year and this time around it was shared by two Mountaineer players. Chase Van Wyck was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and shared the honor with teammate Sage DeLong. The duo also went on to earn AFCA-NAIA and Associated Press All-American honors. Mills' defense racked up five total All-Frontier Conference selections, including three First Team Selections. His defense held opponents to 22.8 points per game which was 36th best in the NAIA and third best in the Frontier Conference. They also ranked third in the conference in sacks with 28.0, which was 24th most in the NAIA.
In his first season with EOU in 2020, Mills and EOU were limited to just four games that were played in spring of 2021 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Eastern went 3-1 and won the program's first ever Frontier Conference Title. The Mountaineers swept the major awards for the conference, including the Frontier Conference Defensive Player of the Year in Chase Van Wyck. Under Mill's tutelage, Van Wyck also went on to earn AFCA-NAIA First Team All-America honors. For the 2020 season, Mills had four players earn All-Frontier Conference honors, with three being First Team selections. Mills' defense held opponents to 22.0 points per game and they posted their first shutout under Mills' back on March 20 in the home/season opener over Carroll College, 28-0.
Prior to his second stint at EOU, Mills spent three seasons at NCAA FCS Division I institute Eastern Washington University. He spent the 2019 season as a Safeties Coach for the Eagles and was a defensive analyst from 2017-2018. Mills was a member of the EWU football staff that led the Eagles to a FCS National Championship game appearance in 2018.
Before joining Eastern Washington, Mills served his first stint at EOU during the 2016 season as a graduate assistant working primarily with the defensive backs. During his time with EOU, the Mounties earned their first berth in the NAIA Playoffs in school history and advanced to the semifinals. They beat defending national champion and top-ranked Marian 17-0 in the quarterfinals. They finished the season with an overall record of 10-3.Â
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Prior to EOU, Mills coached for his alma mater at Pacific and served as the safeties coach for two seasons from 2014-2015. Mills helped the Boxers earn share the 2014 Northwest Conference (NWC) regular season title.
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On the gridiron, Mills was a standout safety for the Boxers and led the NWC in pass breakups during the 2012 season. He won honorable mention All-NWC honors twice before snagging second team all-conference accolades his senior year. In 2013, Mills finished second in the league in interceptions with four.
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Mills was a four-year starter for the Boxers, beginning in 2010 when the school reinstated the football program. During his senior year in 2013, he had 60 tackles and four interceptions. Mills led Pacific in tackles each of his first two seasons, finishing with 62 tackles as a sophomore and 46 as a freshman.
Mills scored on a 100-yard defensive two-point conversion against Lewis & Clark on Oct. 1, 2011. Â The video of that play landed on ESPN's SportsCenter as their "Top Play of the Day."
Mills received his bachelor's degree in Education with a minor in Sociology from Pacific in 2014. He received his master's degree in Business Administration from Eastern Oregon in 2017.Â
A 2010 graduate of Imbler High School, Mills was a four-time All-Old Oregon League selection and was twice named first team All-State as both a quarterback and defensive back.  As a senior, he was selected to play in both the State 1A All-Star Game and the East/West Shrine Game.
Born in Imbler, his parents are Mike and Sandy Mills, and he has one sister, Malia, who was a standout defensive specialist for the EOU volleyball team for four years. His hobbies include boating, fishing, and sports. He is married to Kelli Miller and the couple are expecting their first child sometime in the summer of 2022.
