Urban Meyer looking to overhaul Ohio State's culture this spring
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Tim Kight performed a near-miracle in 2013. He made Urban Meyer stop and chat at a party.
Kight, a Columbus-based consultant who specializes in leadership training, was attending a fundraiser at Meyer's home when the notoriously small-talk averse Ohio State coach walked past. Meyer stopped to say hello. Kight introduced himself and explained what he does. Suddenly, Meyer was intrigued. So intrigued that Meyer brought in Kight and his son to work with Ohio State players last year and with Buckeyes coaches this spring. "I joke around that [Kight] doesn't drink beer often, but he drinks Dos Equis," Meyer said.
At 6 a.m. on Monday, Kight stood before Ohio State's coaching staff at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and explained for 90 minutes how it must prove its competence to players on a daily basis. The lecture was the fifth in a series of six that the coaches will hear this spring as Meyer tries to overhaul his team's culture. In Kight's buzzword-heavy program, culture may be the most critical one. Meyer has a winning program (24-2 in two seasons at Ohio State), but he isn't sure his Buckeyes had a winning culture for the past two years.
Meyer points to his team's pass defense as an example. The Buckeyes were horrible against the pass in 2013, allowing 268 yards a game through the air. That ranked 11th in the Big Ten and 110th nationally. Meyer and his coaches wanted to improve coverage, and they took steps to correct deficiencies. But Meyer isn't sure everyone was preaching the same message. "I've made mistakes in trying to attack behaviors," Meyer said. "For example, we're not playing hard on defense. You can try to fix behavior, but it's unsustainable unless you fix the culture. I believe in that from the bottom of my gut."
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