Rod Perry the new DB coach.
Rod Perry being hired as the DB coach by Oregon State football coach Mike Riley became official Tuesday. A press conference with him will be held this afternoon.
Perry replaces Keith Heyward, who resigned last month to coach for conference rival Washington.
The 58-year-old Perry rejoins Riley after serving as his CB coach with the San Diego Chargers from 1999-2001. Perry spent the last five seasons as special assistant to the defense for the Indianapolis Colts, coaching in two Super Bowls.
“I targeted Coach Perry as a possibility to join our staff from the beginning of my search, and I feel fortunate to have somebody of his caliber coming to Oregon State,” Riley said in a press release. “He has coached in the professional ranks for 22 years and has college experience as well. He will be a tremendous asset in the development of our secondary and our team overall.”
His professional coaching career is dotted with highlights; players he coached earned eight Pro Bowl honors (including two alternates); Colts S Bob Sanders was the 2007 AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year; and the 2008 Colts allowed just six TD passes — the lowest 16-game total in NFL history.
“Rod Perry is a tremendous coach who has a great understanding of defensive backfield play and is an excellent communicator,” former Colts head coach and current NBC analyst Tony Dungy said in the release. “Rod is one of the best technique teachers I’ve ever been around.”
Perry is a 1983 graduate of Fresno State, but played at Colorado, earning All-Big Eight Conference honors as a senior and honorable mention All-America. Prior to Colorado, Perry attended Fresno City College and was a junior college all-American.
The native of Fresno attended Hoover High where his jersey number is retired. Following his college career he was a 1975 NFL Draft fourth-round selection of the Los Angeles Rams, where he earned 1978 and 1980 Pro Bowl honors.
Perry, who concluded his NFL career playing the 1983 and 1984 seasons with the Cleveland Browns, is a member of the Rams’ 40th Anniversary Team and started in the 1980 Super Bowl.
“Coach Riley is a great person and he has been very loyal to me; I’m excited to be on his coaching staff again,” Perry said in the release. “Initially, I wasn’t thinking about the college level, but the more I thought about it the more this opportunity appealed to me.”
Rod Perry brings a ton of NFL experience to the Beavers.
Perry embarked on his coaching career in 1985 at Columbia University, before moving on to Fresno City College in 1986 and Fresno State in 1987-88.
His professional coaching career began in 1989 with the Seattle Seahawks (1989-91/secondary) and also has included positions with the Rams (1992-94/secondary), Houston Oilers (1995-96/defensive backs), San Diego Chargers (1997-2001/cornerbacks) and Carolina Panthers (2002-06/secondary).
“I’ve been away from the college game for a while, but coaching is coaching,” Perry said. “I missed working with young people, and I’m looking forward to being a part of all facets of their lives, not just football.”
Perry and his wife Patrice have three children, Rodney, Ryan and Miranda. Rodney was a 2001 MLB draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies (OF) and Ryan was a two-year football letterman at Hawaii.
9 comments
Chris says:
Feb 14, 2012
Looks to be a great hire. Go beavs! Time will tell but I have to think from a coaching standpoint this is a major upgrade.
mike says:
Feb 14, 2012
Absolutely a great hire. If he teaches our kids to actually turn around and look for the ball instead of constantly chasing receivers from behind blindly waving their arms we are 200% better at the position.
Wear that Super Bowl ring on your recruiting trips. Ducks and Huskies suck. Go beavs.
tagup says:
Feb 14, 2012
Just so you know…defenders playing one on one are taught NOT to look back for the ball if they are not in the right position (on the receivers hip). My hunch is coach Perry will help our corners play the receivers tougher off the line which will help them be in a better position to play the ball. Experienced cb’s help a lot too…..
OSUSupporter says:
Feb 14, 2012
Time will tell but I am optimistic that Rod Perry can bring his experience and knowledge to OSU and make our secondary the best in the Pac12. Not as confident about his recruiting ability but nobody else on the staff seems to be that stellar either so no big deal. Welcome to Corvallis Rod and family!
dili says:
Feb 14, 2012
Hopefully Rod can bring more than just help to the defensive backs. Our entire scheme seems to need an overhaul in order to better contain modern spread attacks. Hope Rod can offer some new and improved ideas for Banker to ponder/implement.
tagup says:
Feb 14, 2012
You make a good point about scheme… I have wondered why OSU sticks with so much man to man on the outside, seems if they played more zone coverage the run support outside the tackles would be more effective……
73GradMike says:
Feb 14, 2012
Also consider that playing more than one defensive scheme makes it much more difficult for an opponent to plan for, practice against and play against the variable defense (traditionally NOT OSU). I’d LOVE to see coverages vary.
My plea to coach Perry: please mix it up sometimes. Poyer, for one, is a beast. Let him blitz even before Banker’s traditional “no blitzes before we’re up by 3 TDs”.
RenoNVbeavr says:
Feb 15, 2012
I hope you’re right, DILI. However, I am not sure Perry saw much read-option spread formations over the last 20 years as coach in the pros.
RenoNVbeavr says:
Feb 15, 2012
73GRAD – If you are asking Perry to “mix it up” and employ blitz options with Banker firmly at the defensive controls, you may be waiting a long time. This is a defense that changes or varies its scheme about on the scale of stalagmite erosion. If nothing else, perhaps Perry could at least get the CB’s / Safeties in position to make tackles 20 yards after the RB has broken through our depleted DL. That, my friend, would be real progress.