Raymond Berry

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{{NFL Coach 2

|Image=
|DateOfBirth=February 27, 1933
|Birthplace=Corpus Christi, TX
|Position=End
|College=Southern Methodist
|DraftedYear=1954
|DraftedRound=20
|Records=
|Honors=NFL 75th Anniversary
All-Time Team
NFL 1950s All-Decade Team
|Retired #s=Baltimore Colts #82
|Awards=
|DatabaseFootball=BERRYRAY01
|PFR=BerrRa00
|player=yes
|years=1955-1967
|teams=Baltimore Colts
|Record=48-39
|Championships=1985 AFC Championship
|coach=yes
|coachingteams=New England Patriots
|coachingyears=1984-1989
|DatabaseFootballCoach=BERRYRAY01
|ProBowls=1958, 1959, 1961, 1963, 
 1964
|HOF=1973}}Raymond Emmett Berry (born February 27, 1933 in Corpus Christi, Texas) was an American football player and considered by many to be one of the best wide receivers of all time. He played for the Baltimore Colts during their four NFL championship wins--one away from the record for any team.

Berry returned to the NFL as a head coach in 1984.

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NFL career

Raymond Berry ended his NFL career with 631 receptions for 9275 yards,and 68 touchdowns (14.7 yards per rec.). During his NFL Career, he led the NFL in receptions 3 times, and was selected to the Pro Bowl from 1957-1961, and in 1965, a total of six times. Berry was considered the very identity of the 1960s Colts(along with Unitas,Ameche,Moore and Mackey). In 1973, Berry was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio

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Coaching Career

In 1984, Berry took over as the head coach of the New England Patriots, replacing the previous coach Ron Meyer in the middle of the season. Under his leadership, the Patriots won 4 of their last 8 games and finished the season with an 9-7 record.

In the 1985 season, the team did even better, recording an 11-5 record and making the playoffs as a wildcard team. They went on to become the first team in NFL history ever to advance to the Super Bowl by winning 3 playoff games on the road, defeating New York Jets 26-14, the Los Angeles Raiders, 27-20, and the Miami Dolphins 31-14. New England's win against Miami was particularly surprising because the Patrtiots had not beaten the Dolphins at the Orange Bowl (Miami's then home Stadium) since 1966, in Miami's first NFL season. The Patriots had lost to the Dolphins there 18 consecutive times, including a 30-27 loss in week 15 of the regular season. In addition, the Dolphins had recorded an AFC best 12-4 record and had been the only team during the season to defeat the Chicago Bears, who had stormed to the top of the NFC with a 15-1 record and advanced to the Super Bowl by shutting out both their opponents in the playoffs.

But despite the Patriots success in the playoffs, they proved unable to compete with the Bears in Super Bowl XX, losing 46-10 in what was at the time the most lopsided defeat in Super Bowl history.

The following season, Berry's Patriots again recorded an 11-5 record and made the playoffs, but this time lost in the first round of the postseason. This would be the last time the Patriots would make the playoffs with Berry as their coach. They narrowly missed the playoffs with an 8-7(during a strike shortened season) record in 1987, and a 9-7 record in 1988. Then in Berry's last year as a coach, the Patriots finished the 1989 season 5-11.

Berry's overall coaching record is 48 wins and 39 losses, and 3-2 in the playoffs.

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