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Ray Perkins, former Giants and Alabama head coach, dies at 79

Giants quarterback Phil Simms, left, talks to coach Ray Perkins on the sidelines during 26-7 loss to the Jets at Giants Stadium on Nov. 1, 1981. Credit: AP/Ray Stubblebine

Four decades on, Ray Perkins rarely is recalled as a key figure in Giants history. But that he was.

He was not an iconic member of the Giants’ coaching pantheon, like Bill Parcells or Bill Belichick, but he hired both of them during his time as head coach from 1979 to 1982.

It also was during his term that Phil Simms, Lawrence Taylor and other key pieces of the team’s first two Super Bowl winners were drafted.