Former Alabama football coach Ray Perkins, who played under Paul “Bear” Bryant and later succeeded him as head coach, died Wednesday. He was 79.
“Our condolences to Ray Perkins’ family and friends,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said during the SEC teleconference. “He served the University of Alabama with great class and integrity. He was a great coach and he had a tremendous impact on the game, and he was a really good person and a really good friend.”
Perkins grew up in Mississippi and played at Alabama, where he was an All-American wide receiver and part of Bryant’s 1964 and 1965 championship teams.
He was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the NFL and appeared in two Super Bowls before working his way up in the coaching profession. He coached the New York Giants from 1979 to 1982 before leaving to take over for the retired Bryant at his alma mater.
“I loved Ray and he was a very close friend of mine,” Bill Parcells, who was Perkins’ defensive coordinator with the Giants and succeeded him as coach in New York, said in a statement. “I was very saddened by the news. He’s the only reason I was in pro football. He’s the one who brought me into the league. He was my friend.”
Living up to the legendary Bryant at Alabama proved to be a Herculean task, as many of Perkins’ moves were heavily scrutinized, whether it was taking down Bryant’s famed tower overlooking the practice field, moving away from the wishbone offense or letting go of his popular assistant coaches.
Perkins, who also served as athletic director, struggled out of the gate, winning eight games his first season and five the next. But he turned things around and won 19 games over the next two seasons before surprising many and leaving for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Coach Perkins,” Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne said in a statement. “Just a year ago we were celebrating him as our SEC Football Legend in Atlanta, an honor he was truly deserving of. 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.”
Years after his time at Alabama, Perkins would tell ESPN that the criticism of him trying to wipe out Bryant’s memory was ridiculous. Other than his wedding band, a letterman’s ring he got from Bryant was the only piece of jewelry he wore.
When Perkins took over as head coach at Jones County (Mississippi) Junior College in 2012, he did so driving a sedan with a Crimson Tide vanity license plate.
“I’m still a Roll Tider,” he said.
Perkins’ other stops included one season as head coach at Arkansas State and time spent on staffs with the New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns.