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Bama fans, why didn't Ray Perkins work out as HC?
Posted on 9/18/25 at 4:34 pm
Posted on 9/18/25 at 4:34 pm
It has been so long ago, I don't remember just what happened.
Was it the Bear's shadow?
Was it the Bear's shadow?
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Posted on 9/18/25 at 5:12 pm to 308
I mean, Perkins didn’t really win anywhere as a head coach except at Alabama. He had one winning season in the NFL (9-7) but at Alabama we weren’t winning at the level expected. 4 years with one 10 win season has gotten several coaches fired in Tuscaloosa
Posted on 9/18/25 at 5:16 pm to 308
He coached Alabama to their first losing season since before Bryant.
Posted on 9/18/25 at 5:27 pm to 308
We just had a lot of bad luck those seasons along with injuries. He was 32-15-1 and 11 of those losses were by 7 points or less and in one of those we got f**ked royally at State College. I know we’re not playing horseshoes or throwing hand grenades but you could pretty much expect that his teams were going to compete.
And he left for a deal any coach … Saban, Kelly, Kiffin, anyone you can name … would have jumped at in a millisecond, total control … sideline and front office … of an NFL franchise.
And he left for a deal any coach … Saban, Kelly, Kiffin, anyone you can name … would have jumped at in a millisecond, total control … sideline and front office … of an NFL franchise.
Posted on 9/18/25 at 5:34 pm to 308
quote:
The Alabama football program was one of the most dominant in the nation in the 1960s and '70s.
Perkins accepted the challenge of replacing Bryant in December of 1982. Immediately, Bryant's wishbone offense was out; a pro-style offense was in.
Another controversial move came when Perkins had the tower from which Bryant had long observed practices, as much a symbol of the former coach as anything on campus, taken down.
Taking over for Bryant also meant taking over a Bryant schedule, no small task. Today, top college football programs generally face no more than one major non-conference opponent each year. In four seasons at UA, Perkins faced 11 — four battles with Penn State, two each against Georgia Tech and Boston College and one-time tangles with Notre Dame, Ohio State and Texas A&M. Alabama went 5-6 in those games.
Perkins' teams earned a bowl berth in three of his four years, winning all three, but did not take a Southeastern Conference title.
Perkins had just completed arguably his best season at Alabama, a 10-3 campaign, and had primed the program with some elite talents when he decided the time had come to step down.
In December of 1986, Perkins pledged to Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Hugh Culverhouse to return to the NFL. Assistants said they've never heard him discuss specifics about why he left.
This post was edited on 9/18/25 at 5:36 pm
Posted on 9/18/25 at 5:35 pm to 308
Too many losses to Auburn
Posted on 9/18/25 at 5:35 pm to 308
He had good players.
Doug Flutie beat them.
There was bound to be a down cycle after 25 years of Coach Bryant.
I don’t think Coach Perkins enjoyed the nonsense associated with the job.
Doug Flutie beat them.
There was bound to be a down cycle after 25 years of Coach Bryant.
I don’t think Coach Perkins enjoyed the nonsense associated with the job.
Posted on 9/18/25 at 5:40 pm to makersmark1
quote:
I don’t think Coach Perkins enjoyed the nonsense associated with the job.
I think this was the biggest thing. I attended football camp at Alabama his last season. He looked like he would have rather been in the pits of hell than at Alabama football camp.
Posted on 9/18/25 at 5:41 pm to 308
I'm old school, but I miss when coaches used to dress like this on the sidelines.
Posted on 9/18/25 at 5:48 pm to captdalton
I’m an Auburn grad/fan, but I would say the spotlight at Alabama as the head football coach may be one of the most intense situations in sports.
After Coach Bryant, it looked tough. After Saban, it looks even tougher.
Whoever has the job will make lifetime money so I don’t feel sorry for them.
I don’t feel sorry for any of the SEC coaches.
All will be fired IF they don’t win enough.
Winning enough varies from program to program.
After Coach Bryant, it looked tough. After Saban, it looks even tougher.
Whoever has the job will make lifetime money so I don’t feel sorry for them.
I don’t feel sorry for any of the SEC coaches.
All will be fired IF they don’t win enough.
Winning enough varies from program to program.
Posted on 9/18/25 at 5:50 pm to makersmark1
quote:
Doug Flutie beat them.
I was at the game.
Who was the Alabama back who got hurt in that game or maybe the next week?
Goode?
Posted on 9/18/25 at 5:50 pm to 308
He did work out, but they offered him the job at Tampa Bay as well as part ownership of the Buccaneers so he took it. The owner was a BAMA man.
He was 32-15-1 at BAMA. Had some bad injury luck in '84.
Played a pretty tough out of conf schedule when he was there. Ohio State, Penn State, aTm, Boston College (Flutie), Notre Dame.
He was 32-15-1 at BAMA. Had some bad injury luck in '84.
Played a pretty tough out of conf schedule when he was there. Ohio State, Penn State, aTm, Boston College (Flutie), Notre Dame.
Posted on 9/18/25 at 6:58 pm to paperwasp
Good stuff. I’d rather be at the gates of hell than at an Alabama football camp!!
Posted on 9/18/25 at 7:37 pm to entmd2002
The comment by one Bama booster was “if Ray heard someone say something nice about him, he’d call them up & piss them off”
Posted on 9/18/25 at 7:44 pm to InkStainedWretch
quote:
we got f$$ked royally at State College
I remember that game and Bama did get $crewed by those refs.
What I remember even better was Perkins being interviewed right after the game, you could see the white-hot fury in his eyes, and he was almost shaking with anger, he said, “That was a crime worse than murder!” referring to the horrendous call in the game against Bama.
Posted on 9/18/25 at 7:52 pm to 308
I was at the Iron Bowl in Birmingham when a bigger and faster Pat Dye coached Auburn team lost to Bama and Perkins. The thing I remember most about the game was a slow white boy running back named Paul Ott Carruth ran all over Auburn’s defense that day.
Posted on 9/18/25 at 9:41 pm to makersmark1
Kerry Goode. He was running thru them like crazy until he got hurt. Changed the 2nd half and really our entire season. He played in the NFL but never regained his speed from his injury.
This post was edited on 9/18/25 at 9:42 pm
Posted on 9/18/25 at 10:19 pm to 308
You never never wanna be the guy to follow THE GUY.
It’s common knowledge yet shite for brains like Kalen DeHarsin keep thinking they can do it.
It’s common knowledge yet shite for brains like Kalen DeHarsin keep thinking they can do it.
Posted on 9/18/25 at 10:27 pm to wareaglepete
I’ll never forget his first game. He was wearing a baby blue shirt with a white collar and he ran out with the team. After a lifetime of watching Coach Bryant meander slowly to the sideline….I cried like a baby. Perkins was abrasive and made unpopular decisions, seemingly for no reason. It was a difficult time.
Posted on 9/18/25 at 11:01 pm to 308
A little off the OP’s topic but I read the bio about Perkins. Pretty interesting journey that guy had. He was warned that football could cause serious damage to his body in high school because he was missing a vertebrae and he sat out one season at Bama due to injury but he continued on. I give props to the guy for following his dream and not letting anything get in his way. Regardless of how you view his tenure as a coach.
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