for their training camp in August. New England Patriots (NFL) In James' first year with the Patriots in the 1984–85 season, he was initially a backup to Tony Collins under his old coach Meyer. When Meyer was fired after a 5–3 start to the season, new coach Raymond Berry made James the starting running back, and James finished the year as the Patriots' leading rusher with 790 yards. In the 1985–86 season, James started at running back all season, rushing for 1,227 yards, and was selected for the Pro Bowl. He was the last white player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season until Peyton Hillis reached that mark in 2010. In Week 2 against the Chicago Bears, he caught a 90-yard touchdown pass from Tony Eason, which was the longest touchdown from scrimmage in Patriots history at the time. He was a major factor in the Patriots' 31–14 upset win over the Miami Dolphins in the AFC title game, rushing for a career postseason high of 105 yards. However, he was dominated by the Chicago Bears' defense in Super Bowl XX, which held him to only one yard on five carries. James struggled to continue his Pro Bowl form in the 1986–87 season, finishing with just 427 yards on 154 carries. At the end of the year, he had surgery to repair his right shoulder after suffering from recurrent dislocations during the year. James returned for the start of the 1987–88 season, but got just three carries in the first two games before being shut down with another shoulder injury. After gaining 15 yards on four carries and 14 catches for 171 yards in the first six games of the 1988–89 season, James suffered from posterior shoulder dislocations and underwent surgery in October, missing the remainder of the season. He retired from the NFL after the 1988 season, having rushed for 2,469 yards and eleven touchdowns in his five seasons with the Patriots. He also had 819 receiving yards and two touchdown catches, and completed three of six pass attempts, with all three completions going for touchdowns. In 2009, James was included in the Patriots All-1980s team that was selected by local media and team figures to commemorate the team's 50th anniversary. Radio and television career After his retirement from play in 1989, James went on to become a radio analyst for SMU college football games,