Ray Perkins (wide receiver)

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For the current American football running back, see Ray Perkins (football player).

Ray Perkins (born December 6, 1941) is a former football player and coach at both the collegiate and professional levels.

[edit] Player

Perkins attended the University of Alabama, playing football 1964-66. He played for the legendary coach Bear Bryant and was a teammate of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath. The Crimson Tide won national championships in both 1964 and 1965, and Southeastern Conference championships in 1964, 65, and 66. During his senior year, he was named team captain. He was also selected as an All-American.

He played for the NFL's Baltimore Colts as a wide receiver from 1967-71. Perkins caught a 68-yard touchdown pass from Johnny Unitas in the 1970 AFC Championship game to lead the Colts to a 27-17 victory over the Oakland Raiders and a berth in Super Bowl V.

[edit] Coaching career

He coached in the NFL as an assistant for the New England Patriots (1973-77) and San Diego Chargers (1978) before becoming head coach of the New York Giants from 1979-1982, helping to build the team that his successor, Bill Parcells, won the Super Bowl with in 1986. Perkins hired future NFL head coaches Parcells, Bill Belichick and Romeo Crennel as young assistants.

Perkins became head coach at his alma mater, the University of Alabama, from 1983-1986, compiling a record of 32-15-1 and winning three bowl games. He has the distinction of being the only head coach to lead Alabama to a victory over the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. A lucrative contract from the Tampa Bay Buccanneers led Perkins to leave Alabama for a second chance in the NFL, after the 1986 season.

Perkins served as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1987-1990. Many of his former college players got a chance to play for him in the NFL. Mike Shula, Kurt Jarvis, and Keith McCants. His career coaching record in the NFL was 42-75-0. He was fired mid-way through the 1990 season, and replaced by Richard Williamson. Williamson, like Perkins, was an Alabama alumnus. Perkins later was the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, serving under Bill Parcells. He also spent 1997 with the Oakland Raiders as an offensive coordinator.

Perkins returned to college coaching at Arkansas State University in 1992. He left after one year.

[edit] Controversy

In 1992, former Alabama player Gene Jelks, who was recruited by Perkins, publicly accused Alabama coaches and boosters of providing him with illegal cash payments and other inducements during his recruitment and years at Alabama (Jelks played from 1985-1989). Jelks' charges resulted in an NCAA investigation of Alabama, and the football program was placed on probation in 1995. Perkins' former assistant coach Jerry Pullen sued Jelks for slander, but lost that case and two subsequent appeals.

[edit] Honors

• 1966 SEC Player of the Year
• First Team All-American, Wide Receiver, 1966
• Inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, Class of 1990
• He was elected to the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame in 2005

[edit] Trivia

Perkins teammate on the 1970 Colts team was Bill Curry, who played center. Curry would replace Perkins as the head coach at Alabama.

[edit] See also

• History of the New York Giants (1979-1993)

[edit] External links

• Orange Beach Golfing Pics

[edit] See also

• New England Patriots Strategy