Pat Meyer played just about every position on the offensive line at Colorado State, and after a brief pro career, he decided to get into coaching. Meyer started out as a strength and conditioning coach and actually spent seven years in that role at NC State (2000-06). Colorado State gave Meyer his first opportunity to coach the offensive line, and the NFL eventually took notice. Carolina is Meyer's fourth NFL team, having previously coached the O-line for the Bears, Bills and Chargers.
Here are three questions with Meyer:
What do the best offensive lines you've coached have in common?
"They played together as a unit. Good offensive lines help each other. The veteran needs to help the rookie, even knowing that rookie might take his job in a couple years. But if a line wants to be great, that's what they do, they help each other. You always have that alpha up front who runs the ship. They have to be smart, tough and competitive. When they do all that together, that makes for good chemistry. After that it's about being good technicians. At this level, the people we line up against are much better athletes than we are. We have to out-technique people."
What do you enjoy about coaching the O-line?
"Typically, the linemen are the lunchpail guys. They're the kind of guys you like to be around. They are first in the building and last to leave. You want them to be the hardest workers on the team, you want them to be the leaders on the team. You want guys to look up to them because of the way they play. I grew up playing the position and have been around it my whole life. It's just ingrained in me."
How would you describe your coaching style?
"I trust what I believe in. But all linemen are different with different skill sets, and I train them differently. I would say I am open-minded. I learn from players. I don't know everything. I learned a lot from veteran players when I was a young coach. I want a tightly-knit group that is going to work hard. We are going to demand perfection and put good stuff on film, because that's a reflection of me, our line and this organization."
