John Dennis Meyer (born April 8, 1950) is a former professional American football

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. An All-American

at Arkansas State, Meyer signed with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, playing safety and

punt returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

for the team. He was cut before the 1974 season and signed with the Portland Storm of the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...

(WFL). He later signed with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

for

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, but was cut before the season started. He next signed with the Calgary Stampeders where he played two seasons as a safety and punt returner. After his retirement as a player, Meyer was hired to coach Calgary's defensive backfield. In

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, he joined the Toronto Argonauts as defensive backfield and special teams coach. He was promoted to

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

and, in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, he replaced Adam Rita as head coach of the Argonauts. He had a 3-4 record over the team's final seven games and missed the playoffs. He was fired after a 1-9 start in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

and replaced by Bob O'Billovich. In 1996, he coached

Great Bridge High School Great Bridge High School is a public secondary school in Chesapeake, Virginia, United States. It is part of Chesapeake City Public Schools. History Great Bridge opened in 1907, holding students from 1st through 12th grade. Another larger buildin ...

in Virginia. He resigned in 1997 so he could move to Atlanta with his third wife. The Wildcats went 1-9 in his only season at the helm. In 2007, he was a defensive coach for the Cherokee High School Warriors of Canton, Georgia, under the head leadership of Brian Dameron. In 2008, he became a sixth grade teacher at Little River Elementary in Woodstock, Georgia. In 2009, he became the defensive back coach at River Ridge High School in Woodstock, Georgia.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Dennis 1950 births Living people People from Canton, Georgia People from Woodstock, Georgia Sportspeople from Jefferson City, Missouri Players of American football from Cherokee County, Georgia Players of American football from Missouri American football safeties Arkansas State Red Wolves football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Portland Storm players Players of Canadian football from Missouri Canadian football defensive backs Calgary Stampeders players