Coaching Career
Berry joined the New England Patriots as receivers coach under Chuck Fairbanks in 1978. He stayed on with new coach Ron Erhardt until Erhardt and his entire staff were fired following a 2-14 1981 season. Berry left football and worked in the private sector in Medfield, MA until the Patriots fired Ron Meyer in the middle of the 1984 season and hired Berry to replace him. Under his leadership, the Patriots won 4 of their last 8 games and finished the season with an 9-7 record. Berry's importance to the team was reflected less in his initial win-loss record than in the respect he immediately earned in the locker room - "Raymond Berry earned more respect in one day than Ron Meyer earned in three years," according to running back Tony Collins.
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 Patriots had not beaten the Dolphins at the Orange Bowl (Miami's then home stadium) since 1966, in Miami's first AFL 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. "We couldn't protect the quarterback, and that was my fault. I couldn't come up with a system to handle the Bears' pass rush," Berry acknowledged.
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. New Patriots team owner Victor Kiam demanded Berry relinquish control over personnel and reorganize his staff. Berry refused and was fired.
Berry's overall coaching record is 48 wins and 39 losses, and 3-2 in the playoffs.
Read more about this topic: Raymond Berry
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