Ray Perkins played wide receiver for the Alabama Crimson Tide from 1964-1966. During his time in Tuscaloosa, Perkins helped lead Alabama to two national championships and was named an All-American in 1966.
Perkins passed away on Wednesday morning in Tuscaloosa, according to Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News. He was 79 years old.
While Perkins was a star for the Crimson Tide in the 1960s, he is perhaps best known for his coaching career.
After a five-year NFL career with the Baltimore Colts, where Perkins won a Super Bowl, he began his long coaching career as an assistant at Mississippi State.
Perkins would return to the NFL in 1974 as a receivers coach with the New England Patriots for four seasons before taking over as offensive coordinator with the San Diego Chargers in 1978.
Perkins would get his first shot as a head coach with the New York Giants from 1979-1982.
He returned to his alma mater as head coach from 1983-1986, replacing the legendary Bear Bryant. Perkins finished with a 32-15-1 record with the Crimson Tide during his four seasons in charge.
It was during his four years as head coach of the Crimson Tide where he coached some of the best players in school history, including Derrick Thomas and Cornelius Bennett.
In 1987, he accepted the job as head coach of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he spent the next four years.
His last major head-coaching job was in 1992 with Arkansas State.
Perkins returned to the New England Patriots as offensive coordinator from 1993-1996, under Bill Parcells, where he mentored No. 1 overall pick, Drew Bledsoe.
Perkins spent two stints with the Cleveland Browns as an assistant coach and spent one year with the Oakland Raiders in the late 1990s and 2000.
He returned to coaching in 2012 as head coach of Jones County Junior College in Mississippi, where he coached for two years. His final season in coaching was spent as a volunteer coach at Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Perkins also served as Alabama’s athletic director for a time and was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
Perkins lived in Tuscaloosa after his retirement.