Former Patriots Head Coach, Hall Of Fame Receiver Dies At 93 originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Former New England Patriots head coach Raymond Berry died at 93 years old on May 25 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
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The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the news on Monday. Berry played 13 seasons in the NFL for the Baltimore Colts. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player as part of the class of 1973. He was a six-time Pro Bowler, three-time All-Pro, two-time NFL champion and part of the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1950s.
Berry started coaching after he retired as a player. He was a receivers coach for the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns before joining the Patriots coaching staff in 1978. He stayed with the team until 1981, when Ron Erhardt and his staff were fired. He came back to football in 1984 to take over as the Patriots' head coach after Ron Meyer was fired in the middle of the season.
He went 4-4 in 1984. In 1985, his first full season as a head coach, he went 11-5 and led the Patriots to their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. They became the first team to win three road playoff games to go to the Super Bowl. They would lose the Super Bowl to the Chicago Bears and their historic defense.
Berry remained head coach of the Patriots until 1989. He spent some time as an assistant coach for the Lions and Denver Broncos after that.
Overall, his record with the Patriots as the head coach was 48-39. He went 3-2 in the playoffs and is a key figure in Patriots history. As a player, he is regarded as one of the best receivers of his era. He and Johnny Unitas were an elite duo for years. Berry finished his playing career with 631 receptions, 9,275 receiving yards and 68 touchdowns in 154 regular-season games. He had 20 catches for 284 yards in the playoffs.
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