On the same team

Veteran Meier excited to work with former rival

Graham Thomas/Herald-Leader
New Siloam Springs assistant football coach Aaron Meier explains a pass route during football practice on Monday at Panther Stadium. Meier comes to the Panthers after spending 10 years as head coach at Catoosa, Okla.
Graham Thomas/Herald-Leader New Siloam Springs assistant football coach Aaron Meier explains a pass route during football practice on Monday at Panther Stadium. Meier comes to the Panthers after spending 10 years as head coach at Catoosa, Okla.

For nine seasons, Brandon Craig and Aaron Meier went head to head coaching against one another in Oklahoma Class 4A football.

Now they are excited to be working on the same sideline.

Meier, a 22-year coaching veteran, joined Craig's varsity football staff at Siloam Springs when he was officially hired in June. He was able to attend practices in the last full week in June before the team took off last week for the Fourth of July holiday.

Practices resumed on Monday and Meier was back with the Panthers as they continued non-contact workouts at Panther Stadium.

"I'm excited to be a part of the district," Meier said. "Just all around excited to get around these kids. It's been great, good kids."

Meier and Craig are very familiar with each other from their time coaching in Oklahoma and playing in the same 4A-3 District.

Meier was head coach at Adair from 2005-2007 and then moved on to Catoosa where he coached 10 seasons before resigning after the 2018 season to go into administration.

While at Catoosa, Meier's team had to play Craig's ultra successful Oologah Mustangs team every season. While a rivalry developed between the two teams on the field, a friendship between Meier and Craig developed as well. The two often talked that it would be neat to work together one day. And that day is now happening in Siloam Springs.

"We used to tell each other when we played against each other, 'Hey, one of these days I'll go work for you,'" Meier said. "Then he took this job (at Siloam Springs in 2018) and I said, 'Hey, I'd really like to do it if you ever get something open.'"

Meier and Craig played each other nine times from 2009 to 2017 with Craig's Mustangs holding the upper hand. Oologah won eight of the games against Catoosa in that span with Catoosa's only victory coming in 2011, a 42-28 victory. That Catoosa team went on to win 12 straight games to start the season before falling 27-24 to Clinton in the Class 4A state semifinals, finishing 12-1.

"I would say (Craig) got the upper hand. He definitely did," Meier said. "They were pretty tough to beat. We were in a district where there were three of us that battled it out -- Wagoner, Catoosa and Oologah. We had some wars -- I mean some wars. It's just good football. We created a rivalry. It's almost like we're used to getting after each other. The kids didn't even realize afterward when we'd walk off the field that (Craig's) one of my good friends. It was a pretty good rivalry."

But being a football coach can be draining and after the 2018 season, Meier decided he needed a change. After going 71-42 at Catoosa, making the playoffs in nine of 10 seasons, winning a district title and reaching the state semifinals twice, he moved into school administration. Turns out he ended up missing football after all.

"I did miss it and found that sometimes upper administration isn't for everybody," he said. "Kids is what I missed the most. It's not a title with me. You know that's the first thing I told Coach Craig when I was coming over here. I don't care about title, I just want to coach and be around the kids. That's the part, the camaraderie, there's just things that you really miss about it."

Meier will be an offensive assistant with Siloam Springs, coaching H-backs and tight ends. Craig said he will likely be coaching from the press box on game nights.

Meier was active in practice Monday with his position players, giving instructions and shouting encouragement.

"The guy has coached for 21 years," Craig said. "He's been a head coach for a long time. He's won a bunch of football games. I think him coming in and getting to know the staff and getting to know the kids is the biggest thing. He knows football. There's a guy that's going to come on staff and bring a lot of football knowledge to the staff. It's not a matter of that. It's a matter of getting acclimated to knowing the kids, knowing the coaching staff and building that chemistry on and off the field."

Meier said Craig's offensive scheme is very multiple, which means H-backs and tight ends have to be versatile and ready to fill different roles.

"Those guys have got to be able to play up front with the big boys and they've also got to do what coach asks as far as going out and catching a pass," Meier said. "They have to be a multiple-type player. Not only physically but mentally too, because they've got to be able to line up (on the line of scrimmage)."

Meier said he sees lots of similarities between Craig's Oologah teams, which went to three Class 4A finals in 2014, 2015 and 2016, and the Siloam Springs team he's currently a part of. The Panthers have gone 5-6 and 5-7 in Craig's first two seasons.

"Oh absolutely," Meier said with a smile. "Just look at them. I wasn't here before Brandon got here, but I'm going to go out there and guess that they didn't quite look like they do right now. His offseason and weight room stuff is second to none. The kids that he coached at Oologah, I mean they played for a couple of (state) titles. There's reasons why. They looked a lot like what I'm seeing. I think the kids are looking like his type of kids."

Meier said he's excited about being in Siloam Springs.

"First of all I love the city itself," he said. "You can just tell, my goodness, you guys got a lot going on. But the potential is out of the roof. You can just tell. ... As far as the kids it looks to me like we have a lot of good people. These are good kids. Good kids usually come from good folks. I'm seeing a lot of that and it comes from a lot of people caring. The schools are nice. I like the administration. They seem very supportive. That's key ingredients to success."

Graham Thomas/Herald-Leader
New Siloam Springs assistant football coach Aaron Meier, left, watches as junior quarterback Hunter Talley prepares to throw a pass during football practice Monday morning at Panther Stadium.
Graham Thomas/Herald-Leader New Siloam Springs assistant football coach Aaron Meier, left, watches as junior quarterback Hunter Talley prepares to throw a pass during football practice Monday morning at Panther Stadium.