Sir Purr
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- Mar 16, 2019
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Meyer spent the past three seasons as the Chargers' offensive line coach after sharing two years with head coach Anthony Lynn with the Bills. In Buffalo, Meyer was a football operations consultant before transitioning to an assistant offensive coach. Before that, he moved up to the NFL with the Bears in 2013, first as an assistant offensive line coach before taking over the full duties a year later. That was during Marc Trestman's tenure as Chicago's head coach, and after Meyer spent 2012 on Trestman's staff with the CFL's Montreal Alouettes as the offensive coordinator and O-line coach.
Before moving up north, Meyer began coaching offensive linemen during four seasons at his alma mater, Colorado State. But Meyer initially broke into the business as a strength and conditioning coach, first at Memphis (1999) and then at NC State (2000-06) and Florida State (2007).
"I think that's helped me as much as anything because you're handling large groups and you're figuring out what buttons you can push with certain kids, and how to handle one guy differently than another guy," Meyer said.
"I really think that leadership-wise and being in front of the group, having to make them believe that what we're doing is the best — I think a lot of that helped me as I went into coaching on the field. I truly believe that's a big part of how I still coach."
But for Meyer, there's nothing like coaching the offensive line. While growing up outside Youngstown, Ohio, he was a five-sport athlete — football, wrestling, basketball, baseball, and track. Yet his true love was being part of the five up front.
"I played the position for years," Meyer said. "It's a different sport than football; it's a whole different sport. We're a part of the football game, but in fantasy football, you're not picking linemen.
"I could go on and say it's the most technical (position) and this and that, and somebody else could argue something else. But I think just the way that the guys are and how they approach loving the game, loving to compete, that's what I get the most out of."
While Meyer may not have known his fellow staff members, the Panthers did bring in three players he'd worked with at previous stops. Carolina traded for veteran left tackle Russell Okung and signed free agent guards John Miller and Michael Schofield. Meyer coached Miller in Buffalo, while Schofield and Okung were with Meyer in Los Angeles.
"It makes it a little bit easier for me, especially during these times," Meyer said.
He then described being in video conferences during the virtual offseason program with 17 linemen on his screen and admitted he's only met about 10 of them. So Meyer would show a play, describe the technique, and then let Okung chime in to explain it differently, increasing everyone's understanding.