“I really don’t know how he’s going to react,” she said. “I feel hopeful and confident that he’s not going to react the way he has before.”

Meyer’s oldest daughter, Nicki, listed on a pink piece of loose leaf paper exactly what changes he needed to make before he became Ohio State’s coach. Meyer keeps the piece of paper in a red Ohio State folder on his desk, a temporary home until he gets it framed.

Nicki Meyer drew up an 11-rule contract that she forced her father to sign Nov. 15 when he broached the idea of returning to coaching with his family.

“Failure to comply with all of the following will result in no more coaching,” Nicki, 21, wrote, underlining the final three words for emphasis. Some of the rules are lighthearted, like buying her an iPad. Mostly, though, they hint at Meyer’s past struggles with balancing his job and his family; the contract demands that Meyer silence his cellphone when he sleeps, eat three meals a day and communicate daily with his three children.

Meyer’s voice caught during a recent interview in his office when he pointed out that last rule.

“I will continue to communicate daily with my kids,” Meyer said, shaking his head. “I lost that.”

Shelley Meyer said her husband spent the last year “indulging himself in the things he felt guilty about missing,” mainly the day-to-day activities of his children. He was the first-base coach for his son Nate’s Little League team and saw his daughters play more volleyball in the last year than he had in the previous half-dozen. The games that he called for ESPN were always Saturdays at noon so he could be home and spend Sundays with his family.

As the weeks passed, though, Meyer missed coaching football. To get back to where he could do it again, Shelley Meyer said, he had to recalibrate his thinking, to understand that taking time out for his personal life during the workday would not result in the demise of his program.