The family of Ray Perkins, who won a Super Bowl ring as a player and succeeded a legend as a head coach, announced, via AL.com, that he has died on Wednesday at 79.
Perkins grew up in Mississippi and played wide receiver at the University of Alabama as a teammate of Hall of Fame quarterbacks Joe Namath and Ken Stabler. He won a pair of national titles while playing for Bear Bryant in college and then succeeded the iconic coach at his alma mater in 1983.
Perkins went 32-15-1 and won three bowl games during his four years as the coach of the Crimson Tide. He left to become the head coach of the Buccaneers in 1987.
The Tampa job was Perkins’ second as an NFL head coach. He also coached the Giants from 1979 to 1982. He was 23-34, but took the team to the playoffs for the first time since 1963 after the 1981 season and helped set the stage for future success by hiring his eventual successor Bill Parcells as an assistant.
Bill Belichick was also a member of Perkins’ staff with the Giants and Perkins would serve as Parcells’ offensive coordinator with the Patriots in the 1990s.
Perkins went 19-41 over three-plus seasons with the Buccaneers and his last head coaching job came at Arkansas State in 1992.
Before moving into coaching, Perkins spent five seasons playing for the Baltimore Colts. Perkins was part of the Super Bowl V champions after the 1970 season and had 93 catches for 1,538 yards and 11 touchdowns over the course of his career.
Our condolences go out to Perkins’ family and loved ones on their loss.