Former Alabama and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Ray Perkins died Wednesday morning in Tuscaloosa. He was 79.
The school announced his passing on Wednesday, and daughter Rachael Perkins posted news of his death on her Facebook page.
Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban says Perkins "was a great coach and had a tremendous impact on the game, and he was a really, really good person and a really good friend.”
Perkins left a head coaching job with the NFL’s New York Giants to replace Bear Bryant following the 1982 season.
He left to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1987-90 and later spent one season leading the Arkansas State program before working as an assistant for several NFL teams
