Oklahoma State Alum Doug Meacham Steps in for Alum and Teammate Mike Gundy
STILLWATER – The word most often used during his 13 minutes in front of the media on Wednesday by new interim head coach Doug Meacham was “fight”. Not unexpected as Meacham, a former offensive guard that now looks more like a former quarterback or wide receiver, was an amateur boxer in high school in Arlington, Texas before he came to Oklahoma State in the 80s. Meacham boxed for the YMCA and in Golden Gloves and the folks back in Arlington from that day say he was pretty good.
“We want them to have fun,” Meacham said when asked what he hoped the team would do. “We want them to go out there, battle, fight and have fun as a unit out there this Saturday.”
The offensive coordinator that will come down to the field and call plays from the sidelines said practices have been good. He has made one slight change in shortening practice a little, working to have more fun and give the players a chance to refresh their bodies even more. He said they are still holding everybody accountable and the urgency to win and build momentum is just as present as it has been.
Asked to give the fans a message, Meacham chose a familiar refrain, back the players.
"Just hang in there and join the fight with us,” Meacham said. “We've got kids, more than anything, you've got kids that are fighting hard. Just support them. No matter how upset you are about things that are going on, think about these kids. That is my message to the fans."
As for things that are going on, Meacham said he owed Mike Gundy a lot. They were teammates when Gundy first took over as quarterback in the 1986 season. Gundy hired Meacham twice as an assistant coach. Now, the new interim head coach said he did not get any advice from his former boss, but he did like the fact that Gundy came to the end of the Tuesday practice, the same day he was let go as head coach and spoke to the players.
"Yeah we've text and he came and addressed the team, kind of an appreciate you type of thing for the team,” Meacham explained. "I think in 21-years that you deserve the opportunity to do that. He got a chance to do it, and he and his wife (Kristen) came out, heartfelt, and I'm glad he had the opportunity to to do that."
Meacham will be on the field and will call plays. He said that Todd Grantham will, in essence, be the head coach of defense. Meacham said he will still rely on staff for situations like third downs, fourth downs, short yardage, blitz pick-ups, etc. As for game management, he said a lot of members of the staff dive into analytics, but his decisions will be based on feel, do they have the right play, is the defense playing well and will hold if the offense doesn’t convert.
More than anything, he wants this team to have fun, play free, and fight. Yes, fight is a favorite word for Doug Meacham.
