Browns owner Jimmy Haslam doesn’t need to hire Ohio State coach Urban Meyer.
Instead, Haslam needs to follow Meyer’s recruiting principles in the 2016 draft and build a foundation of leadership with the coaching staff like Meyer did to set the stage for the Buckeyes’ run to the 2014 national championship.
For me, those were the two most striking parts of The Chase: How Ohio State Captured the First College Football Playoff, (Triumph Books, $24.95) written by former Browns and current OSU beat writer Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch.
While Rabinowitz unearthed behind-the-scenes stories about Ohio State’s Cinderella three-quarterback season, the most fascinating insights come in the chapters before it begins. The book reveals the lengths Meyer, a psychology major at the University of Cincinnati, goes to in his search for players and how he prepares the men who will coach them to greatness.
Haslam’s interest in Meyer was the subject of a report by ChatSports.com on Friday that said the Browns were prepared to offer Meyer the largest contract in NFL history, including an ownership stake. Ohio State thought enough of the report from the largely unknown website to issue a statement to the Dispatch in which Meyer said he had “no interest whatsoever” in another job.
But if Haslam fires coach Mike Pettine, whose Browns have lost 15 of their last 17 games, the owner will surely reach out to some of the nation’s top college coaches to gauge their interest. Even if Meyer turns him down, it would be worth Haslam’s time to discuss with Meyer some of the methods Meyer believes in.
In The Chase, Meyer said it may have been divine intervention that led him to approach Tim Kight, a leadership development consultant, at an Athletes in Action fundraiser at the Meyers’ home in 2013. Kight’s company, Focus 3, has developed a performance pathway with the maxim — “leaders build culture, culture shapes behavior, and behavior produces results.”
Meyer started implementing Kight’s principles in March 2013. Players wore rubber wristbands that read E+R=O — event plus response equals outcome. But it wasn’t until the spring of 2014 that Meyer went all in. Kight held classroom seminars with the OSU coaching staff called The Brotherhood of Trust. Kight said in The Chase that sessions that normally run 45 to 60 minutes with corporations lasted 90 because the Buckeye staff was so engaged. Kight told Rabinowitz that unlike his clients in the business world, Meyer discussed the principles frequently and often picked Kight’s brain.
“I thought it was the best thing that ever happened, not only for the alignment of the coaching staff, but as far as transferring the information to the players,” OSU defensive line coach Larry Johnson said in The Chase. “I think we all had a sense of purpose. Every day you got something new about how to connect with players and what’s important to players.”
A huge issue with the Browns since the franchise’s rebirth has been the coaching staff, not just the coach. Since Chris Palmer scrambled to put together his assistants before the 1999 season, there have been few at the top of their profession like the days of Bill Belichick, who hired Nick Saban (now at Alabama) and Kirk Ferentz (Iowa).
But the biggest problem holding the Browns back is their poor draft history. The Chase offers a look at how Ohio State director of player personnel Mark Pantoni operates and what Meyer demands in recruiting.
That part of The Chase will resonate with Browns fans after general manager Ray Farmer elected not to attend pro days of possible first-round picks before the 2014 draft. That was critical, not because of the meaningless drills Farmer missed, but because of the conversations he could have had.
Rabinowitz writes that during an OSU recruiting visit to a high school, a coach will talk to the “cafeteria workers, secretary, janitor and anyone else who can answer how a kid truly behaves and treats people.”
“You’ve got to listen,” Pantoni told Rabinowitz. “That’s what coach Meyer always says. ‘Ask questions. Listen. Gather information.’ ”
Perhaps Pantoni, not Meyer, is whom Haslam should pursue.
As Haslam tries to fix his floundering franchise, he should devour the preseason portion of The Chase. Or better yet, pick Meyer’s brain on his philosophies and strategies for developing trust, respect, accountability and a winning culture — a failure of most who have walked through the front door in Berea in the last 16 years.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.