Ken Meyer

Kenneth W. "Ken" Meyer (July 14, 1925 – August 14, 2016) was an football coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He may be best remembered as the head coach of the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers in 1977.

Ken was born on July 14, 1925, in Erie, Pa., and was the son of Werner Meyer and Pauline (Uhrmacher). He graduated from Ashtabula Harbor High School in 1943 and was inducted into the Ashtabula County Football Hall of Fame in 2004. He was proud to have served as a staff sergeant in the mighty 8th Air Force during World War II and flew 25 missions over Germany as a tail gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress. He maintained close ties with the men in his bomber group, and was an active supporter and past president of the 305th Bomber Group Association.

He played quarterback at Denison University under legendary football coach Woody Hayes before Hayes became head coach at the Ohio State University. Meyer set several single season and career school records, one of which still stands, and the team's record was 22–3 during his varsity career. He was elected to Denison's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987.

Meyer gained his first coaching experience as head coach at an Ohio high school. From 1952 to 1957, he was an assistant at his alma mater before accepting an assistant coaching position at Wake Forest University in 1958. After two years with the Demon Deacons, he moved on to take another assistant position, this time with the Florida State Seminoles. While with Florida State, he recruited and coached future NFL quarterback Steve Tensi and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff.

Following three years in that capacity, Meyer accepted an assistant's role in 1963 at the University of Alabama under Bear Bryant. During his five years with the Crimson Tide, he worked with the team's quarterbacks, a group which included future Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Namath, as well as Super Bowl winning signal caller Ken Stabler. Alabama's combined record during this time was 47–6–2, including five straight top-10 seasons, an undefeated year finishing #3 in the country, plus two national championships.

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