He showed up on Ohio State’s campus with a mustache and a mission. The goal? To land his first collegiate coaching job as a graduate assistant coaching defensive backs. First, he’d need to impress Ohio State head coach Earle Bruce.
As Urban Meyer sat waiting to interview for the job, something unexpected happened. Recalling the moment years later, Meyer was approached by then graduate assistant Tim Hinton who told him to forget about the defensive side of the ball. Hinton's advice: go over to the offense and coach the tight ends. Rather than pouring coffee as the defensive backs coach, the role with the tight ends would actually get a shot at some real coaching.