Ken Meyer Ken Meyer ( born July 14 , 1925 ) is a former football coach at the high school , collegiate and professional levels . He may be best remembered as the head coach of the National Football League ' s San Francisco 49ers in 1977 . Biography . A native of Ashtabula , Ohio , Meyer was a B - 17 tail gunner with the 8th Air Force during WWII . He played quarterback at Denison University under legendary football coach Woody Hayes before Hayes became head coach at the Ohio State University . Meyer set several single season and career school records , one of which still stands , and the team ' s record was 22 – 3 during his varsity career . He was elected to Denison ' s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987 . Meyer gained his first coaching experience as head coach at an Ohio high school . From 1952 to 1957 , he was an assistant at his alma mater before accepting an assistant coaching position at Wake Forest University in 1958 . After two years with the Demon Deacons , he moved on to take another assistant position , this time with the Florida State Seminoles . While with Florida State , he recruited and coached future NFL quarterback Steve Tensi and future Pro Football Hall of Fame r Fred Biletnikoff . Following three years in that capacity , Meyer accepted an assistant ' s role in 1963 at the University of Alabama under another legendary coach , Bear Bryant . During his five years with the Crimson Tide , he worked with the team ' s quarterbacks , a group which included future Pro Football Hall of Fame r Joe Namath , as well as Super Bowl winning signal caller Ken Stabler . Alabama ' s combined record during this time was 47 – 6 – 2 , including five straight top - 10 seasons , an undefeated year finishing # 3 in the country , plus two national championships . When Dick Nolan was hired as head coach of the 49ers in 1968 , he hired Meyer to tutor the team ' s offensive backs . After one year , Meyer departed to accept a similar role with the New York Jets , reuniting him with Namath . Despite coming off a win in Super Bowl III , the Jets were never able to recapture their magic during Meyer ' s four years with the team , with major injuries to Namath serving as a major culprit . On February 6 , 1973 , Meyer left the Jets to accept the position of offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams , reuniting him with Chuck Knox , who had worked with him at Wake Forest . During four frustrating years , the team reached the NFC Championship game three times , but lost on each occasion . Meyer became an NFL head coach when the 49ers fired Monte Clark and hired him on April 19 , 1977 . However , following a 5 – 9 record , Meyer was fired on January 10 , 1978 , and returned to coaching nine weeks later as the offensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears under new head coach Neill Armstrong . The Bears reached the postseason once in Meyer ' s three seasons , with the veteran coach resigning on December 24 , 1980 . Meyer returned to the college ranks for the next two years , serving as offensive coordinator for Tulane University . When former mentor Chuck Knox became head coach of the Seattle Seahawks , he hired Meyer as an assistant on February 24 , 1983 where he was quarterbacks coach until his retirement after the 1991 season . He helped guide the Seahawks to the 1983 AFC Championship game and the 1988 AFC West Division title . The American Football Association of Finland invited Meyer to run a quarterback clinic in 1992 and he returned to the country to coach Turku Trojans for 1993 and the National Team of Finland for 1993 - 1997 . Finland won the European Championship under Meyer in 1993 , 1995 , and 1997 . He also was an assistant coach with Team Finland Juniors in the 1996 European Championship tournament held in Frankfurt where Team Finland won all its games . In September 2014 Meyer became the 20th person to be inducted to Finnish American Football Hall of Fame . He is also the first and currently only non - Finnish person to be idnducted .