Former NFL running back Mike Bell coming to Cobras’ backfield
Mike Bell learned to deal with adversity while he was a star running back at the University of Arizona, and he’s used that experience ever since. Bell, the third all-time rushing leader for the Wildcats, went through three different head coaches and four different position coaches while he was at the school in Tucson, Ariz.
“It was crazy,” said Bell, an NFL-type talent who signed last week with the Seattle-Tacoma Cobras. “There was so much change over time, such a different environment. When coaches leave, some coaches come in with different personalities.”
Different offensive systems, different playbooks, different philosophies.
The one constant was Bell’s on-field production. He rushed for more than 900 yards in three straight seasons and totaled 3,157 yards and 17 touchdowns during his four-year Arizona career.
Statistically speaking, the 952 yards during Bell’s senior year in 2005 was his best, although he was so sick before the start of the season that he was forced to stay in a hospital for a week, and doctors initially didn’t know what was wrong.
“I had pneumonia in the summer time, in Tucson, in the heat of the summer,” Bell said. “I couldn’t regulate my temperature for four days, and they almost put me in the ICU.”
A range of potential diagnoses included tuberculosis. Despite losing a lot of weight, Bell pulled through and got back on the football field.
“You have to fight through those dark times,” he said. “That’s a testament in my life I’m pretty much going through now.” Bell went undrafted but signed with the Denver Broncos in 2006. He had a breakout game that October when he rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries in a 34-31 loss to the Peyton Manning-led Indianapolis Colts.
Despite being Tatum Bell’s backup, Mike Bell finished second on the team with eight touchdowns and compiled 677 rushing yards.
Bell appeared in just five games with Denver the following year and went to New Orleans in 2008, when he played four games and scored a touchdown for the Saints.
But he filled in nicely and complemented Pierre Thomas perfectly during the Saints’ run to the Super Bowl XLIV championship in 2009. Bell led the team in carries and finished with 654 yards and five TDs.
“New Orleans was a great opportunity because I was surrounded by a bunch of great guys, not only in the running back room but as a team,” he said. “There were all kinds of Pro Bowlers, and coach (Sean) Peyton is one of the best coaches I’ve ever been around.”
Bell wasn’t bothered by the Saints’ pass-first offense that was spearheaded by Drew Brees. READ MORE
