- Ken Meyer
Ken Meyer was a former football coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He may be best remembered as the head coach of the
National Football League 'sSan Francisco 49ers in 1977.A native of
Ashtabula, Ohio , Meyer played quarterback atDenison University , then gained his first coaching experience as head coach at anOhio high school. From 1952-1957, he was an assistant at his alma mater before accepting an assistant coaching position atWake Forest University in 1958. After two years with the Demon Deacons, he moved on to take another assistant position, this time with theFlorida State Seminoles .Following three years in that capacity, Meyer accepted an assistant's role at the
University of Alabama under legendary coachPaul "Bear" Bryant in 1963. During his five years with theCrimson Tide , he worked with the team's quarterbacks, a group which included futurePro Football Hall of Fame rJoe Namath , as well as long-time signal callerKen Stabler .When Dick Nolan was hired as head coach of the 49ers in 1968, he hired Meyer to tutor the team's offensive backs. After one year, Meyer departed to accept a similar role with the
New York Jets , reuniting him with Namath. Despite coming off a win inSuper Bowl III , the Jets were never able to recapture their magic during Meyer's four years with the team, with major injuries to Namath serving as a major culprit.On
February 6 ,1973 , Meyer left the Jets to accept the position of offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams, reuniting him withChuck Knox , who had worked with him at Wake Forest. During four frustrating years, the team reached theNFC Championship game three times, but lost on each occasion.Meyer finally became a head coach when the 49ers fired
Monte Clark and hired him onApril 19 ,1977 . However, following a 5-9 record, Meyer was fired onJanuary 10 ,1978 , and returned to coaching nine weeks later as the offensive coordinator with theChicago Bears under new head coachNeill Armstrong . The Bears reached the postseason only once in Meyer's three seasons, with the veteran coach resigning onDecember 24 ,1980 .Meyer returned to the college ranks for the next two years, once again serving as offensive coordinator for
Tulane University . When former mentor Chuck Knox became head coach of theSeattle Seahawks , he hired Meyer as an assistant onFebruary 24 ,1983 .Finnish American Football Association [ [http://www.sajl.org SAJL ry - Suomen Amerikkalaisen Jalkapallon Liitto ] ] invited Meyer to run quarterback clinic in 1992 and he returned to the country to coachTurku Trojans [ [http://turkutrojans.com Turku Trojans - amerikkalainen jalkapallo ] ] for 1993 and National Team of Finland for 1993-1995. Finland won the European Championship under Meyer in 1995. He also coached Team Finland juniors in European Championship games held in Frankfurt 1996 as assistant coach. Junior national team won the games.References
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