For Perry, old Bulldog home week awaits
Former Bryant head coach returns to Smithfield in his first game on the sidelines with his new team
Seriously, who’s the scheduling genius? You couldn’t give James Perry another opponent other than the school he used to coach at for his first game as Brown University’s football head coach?
“It’s an interesting quirk in the schedule where we open up with them,” said Perry one day earlier this week while sitting on a couch inside his Brown office.
“Them” is Bryant University, where Perry spent the past two seasons before a vacancy at his college alma mater became available. Brown officials wasted little time in identifying the former record-setting quarterback as the perfect choice to lead the Bears in the post-Phil Estes era.
There are comets that orbit the solar system for longer stretches than how long Perry lasted on the Bryant sidelines. Looking back, it was a tenure where the shelf life proved much too fleeting. Once rosy sentiments such as returning to a place of familiarity entered into the equation, it became tough to envision Perry lasting beyond the 22 games he ultimately logged as Bulldog boss.
“Them” is also a reference to the Bryant players and administrators who Perry interacted with during his two-year tenure in Smithfield. He laughed when asked if he was familiar with the location of the visiting locker room at Beirne Stadium, site of Saturday’s 2 p.m. kickoff between two intrastate rivals. The last thing you want to do
is make a wrong turn on game-day, where every second as it relates to preparation is paramount.
“I won’t get lost on my way there,” said Perry. “I know the route.”
Aside from scheduling oddities and gathering your bearings, Perry’s appearance as a visitor to Bryant is one of those coming-full-circle moments that coaches try to their best to ignore. Newsflash: it’s not easy, especially when the school you’re going up against is the same school that believed in your vision and made you a head coach for the first time in your life.
Regardless of how Perry’s football coaching adventures play out, the folks at Bryant will forever hold a special place in his heart. Without Bryant showing faith him and providing the keys to an outlet where he was able to cut his teeth as a head coach, we might be writing a different sort of story.
“I’m appreciative for everything that Bryant did for me. Everyone was super supportive. For all time, I’ll be grateful toward them,” said Perry, the tone of his voice filled with gratitude that only comes when a school like Bryant is convinced that the correct hire was made.
In 2017, the topic de jour heading into the Bryant-Brown game revolved around Perry matching football wits with Estes, his former head coach. Perry also spent three seasons at Brown as Estes’ quarterback coach.
In 2019, mentor vs. pupil has given way to the former coach (Perry) coming up with a game-plan against an opponent with whom you have firsthand knowledge.
For a number of current Bryant players, Perry looked them in the eyes and told them why they should strongly consider becoming part of the Bulldog family. Now, the script has been flipped. Again, welcome to the human side of a sports culture where personal sentiments can be hard to block out – no matter how hard one tries.
“I’m pulling for them, just obviously not this weekend,” said Perry. “I want the players to do well. I want the school to do well. It’s a great program filled with great kids.”
What is now the modus operandi at Brown is a carbon copy from Perry’s philosophy at Bryant. At his January 2017 introductory press conference that officially welcomed him to Bryant, Perry talked about his desire to play fast. Those same words served as the hallmark as Perry’s first public comments after jumping to Brown. It goes without saying that Perry was better equipped to implement the required steps needed to play with increased speed at Brown because the coaching manual he swears by contained a familiar ring to it.
“I want to play differently and because of that, it requires a different level of fitness that’s closely aligned with track. It’s very demanding,” said Perry.
Whenever a new head coach bursts onto the scene, he or she must form a connection with players who came to campus under a different coaching regime. Once again, Perry is well acquainted with trying to get players who are already in the fold to believe and buy-in because that’s exactly what happened when he took over for Marty Fine at Bryant. Those players needed to become his, much like the players he inherited at Brown.
No doubt, Perry was much better equipped to forge a bond with the Brown returnees since it wasn’t that long ago when he sought to make the Bryant players feel like he was the one who recruited them to come here in the first place.
“You inform the (Brown) kids how we’re going to do it and they’ve been great. Just like at Bryant, I’ve been very lucky,” said Perry.
Bryant was the springboard for Perry to get to Brown, the only FCS program he would entertain strong thoughts of joining should the position became available. In terms of soft landings, Perry couldn’t have asked for a better one. Not many folks can lay claim to holding the title of head coach at the same school you starred at for four years. Perry can proudly raise his hand.
In terms of getting his feet wet as a college head coach, Perry looks back at his time at Bryant with great fondness and reverence. After all, it was the Bulldogs who enabled Perry to add “Head Coach” to his résumé.