- Ray Perkins (wide receiver)
NFL PlayerCoach
Name=Ray Perkins
DateOfBirth= birth date and age|1941|02|06
Birthplace=Mount Olive, Mississippi
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Position=Wide receiver
College= Alabama
DraftedYear= 1966
DraftedRound= 7
Awards=
Honors=Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (1990)
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DatabaseFootballCoach=PERKIRAY01
DatabaseFootball= PERKIRAY01
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coach=y
coachingyears=1973
1974-1977
1978
1979-1982
1983-1986
1987-1990
1992
1993-1996
1997
1999-2000
coachingteams=Mississippi State (Assistant)New England Patriots (Assistant)San Diego Chargers (OC)New York Giants (HC)
Alabama (HC)Tampa Bay Buccaneers (HC)
Arkansas State (HC)New England Patriots (OC)Oakland Raiders (OC)Cleveland Browns (Tight end s coach)
player=y
years=1967-1971
teams=Baltimore ColtsWalter Ray Perkins (born
December 6 ,1941 inMount Olive, Mississippi ) is a formerAmerican football wide receiver and coach at both the collegiate and professional levels.Playing career
Perkins attended the
University of Alabama , playing football 1964-1966. He played for the legendary coachBear Bryant and was a teammate ofPro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath . The Crimson Tide won national championships in both 1964 and 1965, andSoutheastern Conference championships in 1964, 1965, and 1966. During his senior year, he was named team captain. He was also selected as anAll-American .He played for the
National Football League 's Baltimore Colts as a wide receiver from 1967-1971. Perkins caught a 68-yardtouchdown pass fromJohnny Unitas in the 1970 AFC Championship game to lead the Colts to a 27-17 victory over theOakland Raiders and a berth inSuper Bowl V .Coaching career
He coached in the NFL as an assistant for the
New England Patriots (1973-1977) andSan Diego Chargers (1978) before becominghead coach of theNew York Giants from 1979-1982, helping to build the team that his successor,Bill Parcells , won theSuper Bowl with in 1986. Perkins hired future NFL head coaches Parcells,Bill Belichick andRomeo Crennel as young assistants.Perkins became head coach at his alma mater, the University of Alabama, for four years from 1983-1986, compiling a record of 32-15-1 and winning three
bowl game s, but the other season had a losing record. It was the first losing season at Alabama "since Hector was a pup". He has the distinction of being the only head coach to lead Alabama to a victory over the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. There was controversy from unsatisfied boosters and alumni at Alabama, and a lucrative contract offer from theTampa Bay Buccaneers led Perkins to leave Alabama for a second chance in the NFL after the 1986 Alabama season.Perkins served as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1987-1990. Some of his former college players got a chance to play for him in the NFL: QB
Mike Shula , Kurt Jarvis, and linebackerKeith 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 returned to college coaching atArkansas State University in 1992. After just one year, Perkins became theoffensive coordinator of theNew England Patriots , serving under Bill Parcells from 1993-1996. He also spent 1997 with theOakland Raiders as an offensive coordinator.Controversy
In 1992, a former Alabama player Gene Jelks, who had been 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's charges resulted in an
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) investigation of the Alabama football program, and the program was put on probation in 1995. Perkins's former assistant coach Jerry Pullen sued Jelks for slander, but he lost that case and two subsequent appeals, including an appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court.Honors
* 1966 SEC Player of the Year
* First Team All-American, Wide Receiver, 1966
* Inducted into theAlabama Sports Hall of Fame , Class of 1990
* He was elected to theSenior Bowl Hall of Fame in 2005Trivia
Ray Perkins's teammate on the 1970 Colts team was
Bill Curry , who played center. Curry would replace Perkins as the head coach at Alabama.Ray Perkins's coached
Mike Shula at Alabama, and also for one season with theTampa Bay Buccaneers . Shula was later hired as an assistant coach of the Buccaneers (1996-99). Shula became a successor of Perkins's at Alabama as the head football coach there in 2003-06.Perkins was the first offensive coordinator for
Don Coryell during Coryell's tenure with the San Diego Chargers. His replacement wasJoe Gibbs .ee also
*
History of the New York Giants (1979-1993)
*New England Patriots Strategy External links
* [http://woodsandwateroutdoorshow.com/perkins.htm Orange Beach Golfing Pics]
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