FOXBORO — He was audacious and young, advised amateur and alike amateurish by a few of his athletes, and eventually, he was alone by a aggregation that, at the time, didn’t accept the accumulation to accept the best candidates lining up to drillmaster them.
But if there is a abiding bequest to be begin in the abrupt and agitated apprenticeship administration of Ron Meyer in Foxboro, it’s apparent every Sunday back Tom Brady walks to the amusement with a apple-pie compatible and not abundant of a limp.
Meyer, who died Tuesday at the age of 76, brought the Patriots’ accustomed abhorrent band coach, Dante Scarnecchia, with him from Southern Methodist University back he accustomed the Patriots’ apprenticeship action in 1982. Scarnecchia has back been with the Patriots for 32 years — all but three back he abutting the staff, accepting spent one division with the Indianapolis Colts with Meyer and two years in a abrupt retirement that concluded in 2016.
“One of the greatest things Ron did back he was assassin in 1982 was to accompany us a adolescent drillmaster from his agents at Southern Methodist University called Dante Scarnecchia,” Patriots buyer Robert Kraft said in a able statement. “Thirty-five years later, that appoint has accurate to be a abiding legacy.”
Meyer was 18-15 in the approved division with the Patriots and 0-1 in the playoffs. He was initially apparent as a ascent brilliant in the academy ranks admitting the actuality that the NCAA eventually issued the “death penalty” to the SMU affairs for infractions committed during Meyer’s six-year administration there.
The Patriots of that time were atrocious to accomplish a burst in their chase for a new coach.
After Chuck Fairbanks ancient on affronted agreement for the University of Colorado afterwards the 1978 season, his top assistant, Ron Erhardt, was able to advance some of the franchise’s momentum. Erhardt’s aboriginal two teams accomplished 9-7 and 10-6, but the basal fell out in 1981 back the aggregation accomplished 2-14, accident its aftermost nine games.
Enter Meyer, an Ohio built-in and Purdue alum that appointed Texas-sounding agreement such as “slobberknockers” and “blowing snot bubbles” as expressions of the affectionate of acuteness he capital to see from his players.
Initially, Meyer appeared to be on clue to about-face about the team’s fortunes, and was called AFC Drillmaster of the Year back the 1982 Patriots accomplished 5-4 in a strike-shortened year and able for the “Super Bowl tournament” that was staged already the assignment abeyance was resolved. But abaft the scenes in Foxboro, agitation was building.
Offensive bouncer John Hannah, a approaching affiliate of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was so put off by Meyer’s mannerisms and declared abridgement of alignment that he remained at his Alabama home at the alpha of a training camp. Aggregation buyer Billy Sullivan accomplished his son Patrick, the team’s accepted manager, to Hannah’s home to beg him to return. There were additionally again instances of players-only affairs with the adolescent Sullivan.
Meyer additionally begin himself in connected action with some associates of his apprenticeship staff, conspicuously arresting coordinator Rod Rust. That bubbled over into an accessible action over ascendancy afterwards the Patriots absent a 44-24 accommodation to the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 21, 1984, back Meyer absitively to blaze Rust.
Meyer did not accept that authority, however, and was accursed the abutting day by Patrick Sullivan. Meyer’s final columnist appointment took abode in the average of the convenance acreage at the above Foxborough State Hospital acreage off Payson Road because he was barred from Sullivan Stadium.
Undoubtedly, Meyer’s best memorable moment as Patriots drillmaster came on Dec. 12, 1982, at then-Schaefer Stadium. In a snowy, scoreless bold adjoin the Dolphins, Meyer motioned from the sidelines with 4:45 larboard to go for the abettor of a John Deere tractor-sweeper — a work-release bastille bedfellow from North Attleboro called Mark Henderson — to ambit the bogus accommodation apple-pie in the aisle of a 33-yard field-goal attack by John Smith.
The bang was good, and the Patriots won, 3-0. To this day, above Dolphins drillmaster Don Shula charcoal affronted over the snowplow’s intervention.
Smith, meanwhile, has deeply maintained that back the break veered to bright the atom from which Matt Cavanaugh would authority the ball, it swept added snow and bribery into his access to the bang and fabricated it added difficult.
Meyer was succeeded by Raymond Berry amid through the 1984 season. The Patriots, actuality a veteran-heavy team, responded absolutely to Berry’s breviloquent personality and avant-garde to the franchise’s aboriginal Super Bowl a year later.
Meyer, meanwhile, went on to drillmaster the Indianapolis Colts from 1986-91, area he acceptable addition AFC Drillmaster of the Year account in 1987 afterwards allowance about-face about a 3-13 aggregation to 9-6, acceptable an AFC East title.
Meyer, a built-in of Westerville, Ohio, accomplished at Purdue for bristles years afterwards his graduation and briefly became a cadre advance with the Dallas Cowboys afore acceptable arch drillmaster at UNLV in 1973. Afterwards in his life, Meyer accomplished brief franchises of the CFL in Las Vegas and the XFL in Chicago, and became a TV analyst.
Mark Farinella may be accomplished at 508-236-0315 or on Twitter at @sunchronsports.
