Ray Perkins, who replaced Hall of Famer Bear Bryant as Alabama's football coach and started the transition with the New York Giants that led to two Super Bowl titles, died Wednesday morning in Tuscaloosa. He was 79.
No other details were immediately available.
Perkins left a head coaching job with the NFL's New York Giants to replace Bryant following the 1982 season. It was a dream job for the former Crimson Tide star receiver.
Perkins won three bowl games at Alabama and was 32-15-1 in four seasons, but also went 5-6 in 1984. It was the program's first losing season since 1957, the year before the school hired Bryant.
He also coached one year at Arkansas State, going 2-9.
Perkins was 42-75 in eight seasons as head coach of the Giants and Buccaneers.
An All-American receiver at Alabama in 1966, Perkins played professionally for the Baltimore Colts from 1967-71.
Etc.
• A diversity report in the NFL assigned high grades for the league office but lagging scores at team levels for racial and gender hiring.
Wednesday's report card from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at Central Florida assigned an overall B-minus grade for the league, with a B-plus for racial hiring and a C for gender hiring.
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