Sedona Red Rock High School suffered a loss over its winter break when Tom Miller died suddenly on Saturday, Dec. 21.
Miller served as athletic director for the Scorpions for a year and also coached the football team during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Darrin Karuzas, who was the principal at SRRHS during Miller’s tenure, remembered him fondly.
“Coach Miller was respected and admired by the students, staff and community — he always spoke about his family and had wonderful stories of his coaching days,” Karuzas said. “He kind of came full circle from where he started his journey many years back to coaching at a very high level in college back to a ‘struggling’ football program that could barely field enough players for a season.”
Miller coached at the college level prior to coming to Sedona. His career in coaching included stints at The Citadel, Dartmouth, Davidson and the University of Bridgeport, CSU Pueblo and the United States Air Force Academy, where he coached for 23 years.
For the players who he coached on a SRRHS team looking to find its footing in football, having a coach with that kind of experience was huge.
“It’s awesome. He had so many years in the game. It was just awesome having him around,” senior Joey Johnson said.
Senior Tama Scharnhorst agreed.
“It’s always good to have a coach with a lot of experience,” he said. “You can get players going right from the get go. That’s kind of what Miller did with me when he first put me on defense. He just kind of taught me how to rush off the tackle as an outside rusher. He’d know where to put players.”
As a program that struggled to even field a complete team, especially with players experienced in the game, the Scorpions predictably struggled on the field. They went 1-9 in 2017, with the only win coming via forfeit. Sedona did improve in 2018, but still went only 3-7.
Despite the struggles, sophomore Dorian Stevens noted that Miller consistently brought a great deal of positivity to the team.
“He always brought positive energy to whatever he did,” Stevens said. “If we were in the weight room working out, he brought positive energy. If we were out on the field and we did something, even if we did it wrong, he’d always bring positive energy.”
“He was a good coach — he taught us a lot,” Stevens added. “I think if we had more people come out last year we would have had a better season.”
Scharnhorst recalled how even when the outlook seemed gloomy for the team, Miller brought light. In 2018, sitting at 0-2 after two convincing losses, the Scorpions took a long trip to Rock Point, Scanhorst said. Despite Sedona’s struggles, Miller expressed an unwavering confidence in his team before the game.
The Scorpions then took the field and delivered a 41- 14 win.
“Miller just walked in the locker room and gave a little speech,” Scharnhorst said. “At the end he was like, ‘I know we can win this.’ That was my first game starting on defense. I’m pretty sure on the first three possessions we scored on offense, and I had a fumble recovery for a touchdown. He actually saw potential.”
In the midst of remembering their former coach, the players also sent their best wishes to coach Miller’s loved ones.
“All my wishes go out to him,” senior Jackson Coughlin said. “All blessings out to his family and whatever’s happening to them. I hope that they get through it because he was a great guy who set a mark for everyone.”
“I just want to send all my love and prayers to his loved ones,” Scharnhorst added. “I know he has family out in New York, where he grew up. He was just a great guy, a great coach and a great mentor to me.”
