Sam Mills stood only 5'9' but to his teammates and those who knew him, he was a giant among men. The 45-year-old ex-linebacker lost his last fight today when he died of cancer of the small intestine at his home.

'Sam was one of the finest people you will ever meet. You would never know that he was a player who made Pro Bowls and had all this attention because he treated everybody the same no matter who they were,' Carolina general manager Marty Hurney said. 'He never had a bad thing to say about anybody and had a great ability to laugh at himself. He was the type of guy you want your kids to grow up to be.'

Mills made the Pro Bowl five times in his 12-year NFL career. He spent the first nine seasons in New Orleans where he helped make the Saints defense one of the best in football. He finished his career with the Carolina Panthers and helped lead them to the NFC Championship game after the 1996 season.

'He's definitely the best coach I ever had,' said Panthers linebacker Will Witherspoon. 'I got to talk to him the last couple of weeks and I knew that he wasn't doing well, but he never wanted to bring that up.'

After being cut by teams in the NFL and the Canadian Football League, Mills finally broke in with the USFL's Philadelphia Stars. On the Stars, he became a star. When the USFL folded, ex-Stars coach Jim Mora brought him to New Orleans when he got a coaching job there.

The Saints released a statement upon learning of Mills' death. 'Sam was a member of the Saints family and the community here in New Orleans and those times will be forever cherished and never forgotten. He was embraced not only by our organization but the whole community who loved his spirit, his positive attitude and his drive and determination.'

Despite being told he didn't have long to live, Mills insisted on coaching the Panthers as much as possible the past two years. He didn't miss a game in 2003.

'The club basically gave me the option as to how much I wanted to be around,' Mills said. 'Hey, I am a football coach. That is what I am. As long as I have the power in me to go ahead and continue to coach, I'd like to continue to coach.'

Mills is survived by his wife, Melanie and four children, two sons and two daughters.