before Bryant's tenure began. Although he won three bowl games during his tenure, it was far short of what Alabama fans had come to expect. Increasing pressure from boosters and alumni at Alabama made Perkins receptive to a lucrative contract offer from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 1986 Alabama season. Perkins served as head coach and general manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1987 to 1990. Some of his former college players got a chance to play for him in the NFL: QB Mike Shula, Kurt Jarvis, and linebacker Keith McCants. His career coaching record in the NFL was 42–75. He never won more than five games in Tampa Bay; his tenure came during an NFL-record streak of 12 consecutive 10-loss seasons. He was fired midway through the 1990 season, and replaced by his offensive coordinator, fellow Alabama alumnus Richard Williamson. Perkins returned to college coaching at Arkansas State University in 1992. After just one year, Perkins became the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, serving under Bill Parcells from 1993 to 1996. He also spent 1997 with the Oakland Raiders as an offensive coordinator. On December 20, 2011, he was introduced as the new head football coach at Jones County Junior College (JCJC) in Ellisville, Mississippi. Perkins resigned from JCJC on December 24, 2013. He resided in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In 2014, he was said to be taking a volunteer coaching role with Oak Grove HS. Recruitment allegations In 1992, former Alabama player Gene Jelks, who had been recruited by Perkins, publicly accused Alabama coaches and boosters of providing him with illegal cash payments and other inducements during his recruitment and years at Alabama (Jelks played from 1985 to 1989). Jelks's charges resulted in a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) investigation of the Alabama football program. Perkins's former assistant coach Jerry Pullen sued Jelks for slander, but he lost that case and two subsequent appeals, including an appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court. Death Perkins died at his home on the morning of December 9, 2020, at 79 years old. Honors SEC Player of the Year, 1966 First-Team All-American, Split end, 1966 Inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, Class of 1990 Inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, Class of 1998 Elected to the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame in 2005 Head coaching record College NFL See also History of the New York Giants