Ohio State Urban Meyer coaches clinic 2014

Urban Meyer addressing high school coaches at Ohio State's coaching clinic last Friday.

(Doug Lesmerises, Cleveland.com)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Urban Meyer is 0-2 in his last two games at Ohio State. As shown by his speech to high school coaches last Friday at the Buckeyes’ coaching clinic, the losses have given Ohio State’s boss a chance at reflection and reinvention that he may not have had during the 24-0 start to his OSU tenure.

It’s more difficult to make repeated references to “tactical errors” when you keep winning.

Meyer is on a leadership kick. He has been for a couple years. He's told the story of meeting a leadership consultant at an event at his home, picking his brain for several hours and using him to develop a leadership program for his players before last season. He's instituting the same type of leadership classes for his coaches – he now calls them "unit leaders" – this year, with five sessions in the books so far.

So that’s what Meyer threw at high school coaches for 30 minutes a week ago before introducing that leadership consultant, Brian Kight, for his own talk. Meyer even mocked the idea of anyone wanting a down-and-dirty football strategy talk from him instead of this.

“If you're not a thinker, start drawing plays, start drawing circles,” Meyer said at the end of his speech, in his final Kight intro. “If you're a deep thinker, which Ohio high school coaches are, this is an impactful moment.”

It's a moment that may have been born of a play here and play there in those two losses. Shut down a 72-yard touchdown pass or make a fourth-and-2 run against Michigan State, hold on to a punt against Clemson, and the Buckeyes' season could have ended very differently.

But the truth was still the truth.

Of potentially reaching the national title game last season Meyer said, “To be quite honest with you, we weren't really ready. You can't play defense the way we did and do that.”

But the results could have been different. The Buckeyes may have reached that point anyway, ready of not.

Stepping back to his first season, Meyer, repeating similar things he said before, called the Buckeyes of 2012 “awful,” “terrible” and “God-awful,” at various points in his speech. During the nonconference season, he thought they'd wind up 6-6. But by the end of the 2012 season, he thought the Buckeyes could have competed with either team in the national title game if they hadn’t been banned.

Yet now entering year three, he’s still looking for change. Meyer has batted down suggestions of a culture shift, but he does keep talking about what will be different.

He has his BCD mantra – no blaming, complaining or defending.

He railed against the lack of leadership instruction among college coaches – “You know how much college athletics spends on corporate leadership training for our leaders? None.”

He talked about how coaches attack behavior – like some laziness in practice - without getting to root problems.

“I will sometimes use language I'm not proud of,” Meyer said. “But I'll get you. I'll get you really hard. But if you attack behavior, but it's not supported by the culture, it's not sustainable.”

He even repeated that so the coaches got it.

Meyer said of the Buckeyes’ nine units – quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, tight ends, offensive line, defensive line, linebackers, safeties and cornerbacks – six operated at the necessary level a year ago.

“If we can get nine units operating at maximum capacity, I don't think Ohio State can lose,” Meyer said.

Meyer said he was upset that the Buckeyes didn't go nine for nine last season – upset at himself. He believes himself to be a different coach and a different person now, and Ohio State to be a different place.

It's his leadership crusade. He thought he saw strides during the first 12-0 stretch in his first year. He thought he saw strides during the next 12-0 stretch in year two. He thought more was needed after that 0-2 finish led last season to end at 12-2.

And so the reinvention continues, but now in defeat. It may be just what Meyer and his team needed.