John Dennis Meyer is a former professional American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 defensive lineman and coach

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

.

An All-American defensive back

Defensive back

In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...

 at Arkansas State, Meyer signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

 in 1973

1973 NFL season

The 1973 NFL season was the 54th regular season of the National Football League. The season featured O.J. Simpson becoming the first man to rush for 2,000 yards in one season...

, playing safety and punt returner

Punt returner

Punt returner is a position on special teams in American football.-Description:The role of a punt returner is to catch the ball after it is punted and to give his team good field position by returning it. Before catching the punted ball, the returner must assess the situation on the field while...

 for the team. He was cut before the 1974 season

1974 NFL season

The 1974 NFL season was the 55th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl IX when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings...

 and signed with the Portland Storm

Portland Storm

The Portland Storm were an American football team based out of Portland, Oregon, playing in the World Football League. When the World Football League was created in October 1973, the Storm was the original New York franchise. When the Boston Bulls merged with New York to become the New York...

 of the World Football League

World Football League

The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...

. He later signed with the Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 for 1975

1975 NFL season

The 1975 NFL season was the 56th regular season of the National Football League. It was also the first time that featured an entire season with no games ending in a tie. The league made two significant changes to increase the appeal of the game:...

, but was cut before the season started. He next signed with the Calgary Stampeders

Calgary Stampeders

The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...

 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

1982 CFL season

The 1982 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 29th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 25th Canadian Football League season.-CFL News in 1982:After the 1981 season the Montreal Alouettes folded...

, he joined the Toronto Argonauts

Toronto Argonauts

The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...

 as defensive backfield and special teams coach. He was promoted to defensive coordinator

Defensive coordinator

A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...

 and, in 1992

1992 CFL season

-1992 CFL Awards:*CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award – Doug Flutie , Calgary Stampeders*CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award – Ray Elgaard , Saskatchewan Roughriders*CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award – Willie Pless , Edmonton Eskimos...

, he replaced Adam Rita

Adam Rita

Adam Rita is a Canadian Football League executive who has served as the head coach of Toronto Argonauts, Ottawa Rough Riders, and BC Lions and as general manager of the Lions and Argonauts....

 as head coach

Head coach

A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

 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

1993 CFL season

The 1993 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 40th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 36th Canadian Football League season.-CFL news in 1993:...

 and replaced by Bob O'Billovich

Bob O'Billovich

Robert "Bob" O'Billovich, nicknamed "Obie", is the current General Manager of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League....

.

In 1996, he coached Great Bridge High School

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 and is located at 301 West Hanbury Road.-History:...

 in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. He resigned in 1997 so he could move to Atlanta with his second 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

Canton, Georgia

Canton is a city in and the county seat of Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 22,958.-Geography:Canton is located at ....

, under the head leadership of Brian Dameron.

In 2008, he became a sixth grade teacher at Little River Elementary in Woodstock, Georgia

Woodstock, Georgia

Woodstock is a city in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 23,896 at the 2010 census.Originally a stop on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, Woodstock is now considered part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...

.

In 2009, he became the defensive back coach at River Ridge High School

River Ridge High School

River Ridge High School , commonly referred to as Ridge, is an American high school located in Lacey, Washington, USA and is one of three comprehensive high schools of the North Thurston Public Schools. It was established in 1993 and named for its proximity to the geographical ridge of the...

 in Woodstock, Georgia.