The first head coach to ever lead the Colts to the playoffs in Indianapolis has passed away.
Eric Dickerson, one of Ron Meyer's star players at both SMU and with the Colts, broke the news earlier this evening on Twitter:
Meyer spent parts of six seasons as head coach of the Colts from 1985-91 with an overall mark of 36-35. His tenure was highlighted by a 9-6 record in the strike-shortened 1987 season, and the franchise's first playoff berth (1987) since moving to Indianapolis.
Meyer's Indiana football ties run even deeper than the Colts. The Ohio native played collegiately at Purdue, and started as a head coach at Penn High School in Mishawaka in 1964. He spent the next six seasons in West Lafayette as an assistant for Jack Mollenkompf, a tenure which included Purdue's only Rose Bowl win in 1967.