Former Crimson Tide Coach Ray Perkins Dead At 79

TUSCALOOSA, AL. — He was the man hand-picked for the Herculean task of replacing a legend before going on to coach football for more than three decades at the college and professional levels. On Wednesday, sources at the University of Alabama confirmed that Ray Perkins, who coached the Tide following the retirement of Paul W. "Bear" Bryant, has died at the age of 79.

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Numerous reports indicated that Perkins died peacefully at his home in Tuscaloosa after battling health issues in recent years.

Current Tide head coach Nick Saban in a statement on Wednesday called Perkins a "great friend and an outstanding football coach" who served the university with class and integrity.

"Coach Perkins was a great leader who had a tremendous impact on the game of football at all levels," he said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Lisa, and his children Tony, Mike, Rachael and Shelby.”

UA Director of Athletics Greg Byrne said just a year ago the university was celebrating Perkins as its SEC Football Legend in Atlanta.

"Coach Perkins served in every possible capacity of Alabama Athletics as an All-American football player, head coach and athletics director, and he will certainly be missed," Byrne said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Lisa, and children Tony, Mike, Rachael and Shelby, extended family and friends during this time.”

Born in Petal, Mississippi on Dec. 6, 1941, Perkins would go on to play football for the Crimson Tide, where he would be a part of national title teams in 1964 and 1965 under Bryant. During his time on the gridiron for Alabama, Perkins also caught passes from the likes of Hall of Fame quarterbacks Joe Namath and Ken Stabler.

After a brief NFL career playing for Don Shula of the Baltimore Colts and winning Super Bowl V against the Dallas Cowboys, Perkins hung up his cleats and began a career in coaching. Assistant jobs in the NFL would eventually lead to Perkins being named the head coach of New York Giants in 1979.

Perkins saw little success in his four years with the Giants, never winning more than five games, but did build up a franchise that would see future success under Perkins' pupil Bill Parcells. The young head coach also gave a chance to future New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick on his Giants' staff.

Perhaps the greatest challenge of his career would come in 1983, when Bryant chose Perkins to be his successor at the University of Alabama. Perkins' time at his alma mater lasted four years, posting a 5-6 record in 1984 after finishing the previous season at 8-4 with a team made up primarily of players recruited by Bryant.

Perkins also shook the Crimson Tide fan base with a departure from the trappings of the Bear Bryant era, the ire from which could be seen in newspaper reports of the day.

"[The fanbase has] interpreted each move, soundness aside, as a slap at Bear," wrote Jim Nesbitt of the Orlando Sun Sentinel in 1985. "They howled when Perkins got rid of the tower, when he dumped Golden Flake, the Birmingham-based chip-maker and longtime Tide sponsor for Frito Lay, and when he triggered the departure of most of Bryant's popular assistants."

Throughout his time, Perkins embraced the change, working to step out from the shadow of a legend to move the program forward.

"I'm not Bear Bryant, don't want to be," Perkins was famously quoted. "I'm Ray Perkins, and I've got to be Ray Perkins."

Despite leading the Tide to 32–15–1 over four seasons, Perkins' seat began to heat up and would result in him being named the head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This cumulated in a 19-41 record over four seasons and saw Perkins go on to take numerous coordinator and position coach jobs in the league before trying his hand once again at the major college ranks.

For a lone 2-9 season, Perkins guided Arkansas State but became offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots after only a season.

After stints in different assistant roles, his last head coaching job would come in the junior college ranks of his home state of Mississippi in 2011 when he was hired by Jones County Junior College.

He would lead the Bobcats to a 15-5 but resigned after two seasons. In 2013, Perkins was named the Mississippi Association of Community & Junior Colleges (MACJC) Coach of the Year, after coaching JCJC to its first MACJC South Division title since 2001 and its first appearance in the MACJC championship game since 2007.

His last coaching job would be as a volunteer at Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, Mississippi — the same school where NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre also worked as a volunteer coach.

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