"He was Purdue's greatest recruiter in football," former coach Bob DeMoss said of Ron Meyer a few years ago. "He worked magic with kids."
Meyer's untimely death on Dec. 5 of an aneurysm while on a golf course at the age of 76 brought to an abrupt end a life that was steeped in football from the high school level all the way to NFL. But Meyer always was quick to credit his roots in the game he loved beginning with his days as a Boilermaker.
The fact that Meyer worked his "magic" as an assistant at Purdue before going on to much bigger things in football are reasons why his story isn't top-of-mind awareness to many when looking back at the annals of Boilermaker football.
If you aren't nearly 60-years-old, you might not know much about Ron Meyer's time at in West Lafayette. And if you aren't over age 45, you might not know about Purdue's ill-fated attempt to secure Meyer as Purdue's head coach in early December, 1986, a move that may have changed to course of Boilermaker football for years to come.
Meyer is important to the history of Purdue football.
And his legacy, or at least the manner and skill in which he recruited during his time as a Boilermaker assistant from 1965-70, remains relevant to what Purdue aspires to be on football's national stage some 50 years later. Meyer was a receivers coach at Purdue when its success in terms of being in the college football conversation was unprecedented for the school. From '65-69, Purdue put together a string of five consecutive two-loss seasons, won a Rose Bowl, a Big Ten title and had four consecutive podium finishers for the Heisman Trophy. But it was how those teams were built, in part, that Meyer played a big role in developing.
Meyer came to my mind when Purdue hired coach Jeff Brohm. In Brohm, the Boilermakers have imported a brash, progressive, innovative new approach to its program. To that end, Brohm has some young assistants possessing Meyer-like qualities with their youthful passion. But none are in their 20s as Meyer was when started and left the Boilermaker coaching staff.
Meyer left Purdue for a job with the Dallas Cowboys while he was still in his 20s after serving six years as a Boilermaker assistant, it wreaks of youthful exuberance. If you do the math, it is hard to imagine too many 24-year old coaches on the sidelines of a big-time football school as Purdue was at the time.
Meyer was hip, so to speak, because he wasn't far removed from being a player at Purdue. Meyer was a walk-on turned academic All-Big Ten performer as a quarterback/defensive back (in an era there was only one so awarded on a team per year) for Coach Jack Mollenkopf from 1960-62. He knew how to get things done, and went about it with an equal dose of showmanship and intellect. Meyer was known as a smart, strategic guy.
The year 2017 hasn't been a good year for the legends of Boilermaker football. First DeMoss, then Joe Tiller and now Meyer. Meyer may have not been on the level of a Tiller or DeMoss, but his contribution was significant, especially his relatively short stint in West Lafayette.
But what other reasons made Meyer important?
Meyer was an edge-player, willing to take risks in recruiting that some didn't understand or like. He loved to recruit, but most of all, it was because he loved the kids he was recruiting. Sometimes that got him in trouble as it did at SMU years after he left West Lafayette. But it also afforded him some great players.
Meyer was the assistant most responsible for recruiting the single-best class (at least by one measure) in Purdue football history. The Class of 1969 produced a first-and-only time at Purdue three first-round NFL draft picks with Dave Butz, Otis Armstrong and Darryl Stingley. They were all tabbed early and each enjoyed a standout NFL career. (For more on the recruitment read: Purdue's Triple Play in Chicago). Also in the Class of '69, defensive ends Steve Baumgartner and Gary Hrivnak were tabbed in the second round and linebacker Gregg Bingham in the fourth. Bingham also enjoyed a long, productive career with the Houston Oilers. Baumgartner and Bingham were from the Chicago area as well.
Would Meyer have turned in recruiting connections into a successful stint at Purdue as a head coach? We will never know for sure. That's because Indianapolis' Colts owner Jim Irsay, a former player of Meyer's at SMU, and his father Bob, swooped in and hired Meyer moments before he inked a contract put in from of him by Purdue athletic director George King.
It was bad timing for Purdue to be sure, as chairs were already being set up in Mackey Arena's VIP room for the Meyer-to-Purdue press conference. I knew of this first hand as it was some on my list of duties as a new Purdue athletics' employee. Meyer's decision to go with the Colts left Purdue to hire Fred Akers, much to the chagrin of King. That didn't work out so well as Akers never got traction and was fired four years later.
With Purdue out of the picture, Meyer never coached in college again. He would later say he didn't regret taking the Purdue job, because the Colts' opportunity was too good to pass up. He was with the Colts from 1987-91, after a stint with the Patriots from 1982-84.
He later coached in the XFL and had a career in broadcasting with TBS. Ron was always camera-friendly. He co-hosted a popular coaches show in the Lafayette area called the "Ronnie and Donnie Show." along with fellow assistant Don Fuoss. It was must-see TV for fans of a program that was perennially in the top-10 during Meyer's time on the staff.
So it is not surprising that Meyer did tell some great stories about several of his recruiting adventures during his days at Purdue. It was a time when the Boilermaker program was a key player, if not a dominant force (with the exception of Notre Dame) in the Chicago area. Meyer was always good at using all his resources available to him, often teaming with long-time booster Frank McDermott (when it was legal to do so) to get in some of the best Windy City area talent.
Back in 2005, I did a summer series on the best recruiting stories on GoldandBlack.com. Meyer was always a great, and willing source. Most were stories were of recruiting successes, like "Triple Play" with Butz, Stingley and Armstrong.
But there were stars that didn't pan out on the field as well, most notably high-school All-American John Handy. But that didn't make the tale that took place in the spring of 1966 any less memorable. It was a story about how Meyer had to circumnavigate Chicago Bears star and Kansas Jayhawks grad Gale Sayers along with its new coach Pepper Rodgers who were making a last-ditch effort to steal Handy away from Purdue. It couldn't have been any more indicative of what his experience was like on the trail. Meyer spent all night in a car and used his best salesmanship to secure Handy to Purdue.
"John was probably the most highly recruited player I was ever around who did not pan out," Meyer said back in 2005. "It was also one of the craziest experiences I have endured in four decades of coaching. I will never forget it.
"On the morning of signing day, we have about 10 cars in front of his house including (Purdue supporter) McDermott and John's high school coach Bill Zimmer," Meyer said. "Sayers who had been a constant at his house and Rodgers don't show up for some unknown reason, but they did send assistant Dick Tomey (who later coached at Arizona) in. All the while, Gale is still calling Handy as the time for a decision neared."
It's a scene that could be best described as "High Noon," which took place four hours early with the parties assembled in Handy's living room at 8 a.m., Tomey fired the first salvo by telling Handy 'if you go to Kansas you will make me the happiest guy in the world. If you choose Purdue, I will shake your hand.'"
Meyer, always looking for an opening in closing the deal, saw his big opportunity.
"I said, 'John get up there and shake his hand, you are coming to Purdue, son.' Meyer said. "I think the poor kid was brainwashed by that point. But he came to Purdue.
"I learned early in recruiting that nice guys finish last. If you want something you have to go get it, and I used that philosophy in trying to seal the deal for John."
I was fortunate to learn of some of Meyer's best stories in our frequent conversations over the past dozen years.
Meyer had his flaws, and lived life on the fast track at times. Yet, he was always quick to comment about the importance of his former players and coaches and how they made his life complete. He found a way to alway be complimentary of the people that got him along in life, and that was especially true of his experience at Purdue.
Need proof of Meyer's allegiance to his alma mater? On his obituary it states the commencement of the Ron Meyer Scholarship Fund set up through the John Purdue Club.
My last conversation with him on Aug. 17 consisted of me passing along Brohm's contact information to Meyer, as Meyer thought he might be able to help the new Purdue coach with some contacts he had. His last words to me ...
"I really like Brohm as a coach, and I can't wait to watch Purdue become relevant in football again. That place means so much to me."
Membership Info: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?
Follow GoldandBlack.com: Twitter | Facebook
More: Gold and Black Illustrated/Gold and Black Express | Subscribe to our podcast
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2017. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.
