Mike Miller lost his bid to become Alouette head coach.  That won him the Offensive Coordinator title and it is not the first time the longtime NFL assistant has had his career take an intriguing turn.

He feels a special bond with Montreal---but not even because of football. 

He feels it because of Super Mario.

"I had a No. 66 Mario jersey," Miller, a former Steelers and most recently Cardinals assistant coach, admits.

"Montreal was special because it was his hometown."

In fact Miller interned with his beloved Penguins' PR department and that led him also to the NFL's Steelers opportunity as well.

His career in coaching was jumpstarted by Pittsburgh's Super Bowl Champion Coach Bill Cowher, who once hired Miller without even telling him what his job would be.

Coincidentally, Anthony Calvillo once talked to an NFL team about a tryout during his one and only contract "battle" with the Alouettes about a decade ago: the Steelers were interested.