1. Walter Ray Perkins was an American football coach and player.
25 Facts About Ray Perkins
1. 2.
Ray Perkins played as a wide receiver for the University of Alabama and Baltimore Colts.
3.
Ray Perkins later worked as a football coach for 28 years, including stints as the head coach for the New York Giants, the University of Alabama, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Arkansas State University.
4.
Ray Perkins was known for his extraordinary work ethic as a youth in Petal, and was an all-America running back at Petal High School.
5.
Ray Perkins earned the high school nickname "Grease" due to the condition of his clothes from work.
6.
Ray Perkins attended the University of Alabama, playing football from 1964 to 1966.
7.
Ray Perkins played for coach Bear Bryant and was a teammate of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks Joe Namath and Ken Stabler.
8.
Bryant moved Ray Perkins from running back to receiver after Ray Perkins suffered a serious head injury that led surgeons to drill three holes in his skull to reduce the pressure.
9.
Ray Perkins was selected as an All-American in 1966, as well as SEC Player of the Year.
10.
Ray Perkins played for the National Football League's Baltimore Colts as a wide receiver from 1967 to 1971, initially under coach Don Shula.
11.
Ray Perkins came to the Colts during hall of fame receiver Raymond Berry's final season, and learned film study from Berry.
12.
Ray Perkins next coached in the NFL as an assistant for the New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers before becoming head coach of the New York Giants from 1979 to 1982.
13.
Ray Perkins hired future NFL head coaches Parcells, Bill Belichick, and Romeo Crennel as young assistants.
14.
Ray Perkins was the first NFL coach for future Most Valuable Player and Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor, who Perkins personally scouted before selecting Taylor in the draft, and future Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Phil Simms.
15.
When Bryant retired after the 1982 season, Ray Perkins took on the daunting task of succeeding him at Alabama.
16.
Ray Perkins served as head coach and general manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1987 to 1990.
17.
Ray Perkins never won more than five games in Tampa Bay; his tenure came during an NFL-record streak of 12 consecutive 10-loss seasons.
18.
Ray Perkins was fired in December of the 1990 season, and replaced by his offensive coordinator, fellow Alabama alumnus Richard Williamson.
19.
Ray Perkins returned to college coaching at Arkansas State University in 1992.
20.
Ray Perkins spent 1997 with the Oakland Raiders as an offensive coordinator, a difficult season where he was in conflict with owner Al Davis.
21.
In 1992, former Alabama player Gene Jelks, who had been recruited by Ray Perkins, publicly accused Alabama coaches and boosters of providing him with illegal cash payments and other inducements during his recruitment and years at Alabama.
22.
Ray Perkins died at his home on the morning of December 9,2020, at 79 years old.
23.
Ray Perkins is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is caused by repeated hits to the head.
24.
Ray Perkins received similar medical advice after his first year at Alabama, when he suffered a serious head injury in practice, just before the start of his sophomore season, in a head-to-head collision with one of the team's linebackers.
25.
Ray Perkins did not play the season, and during treatment, three holes were drilled into his head to relieve the pressure.