Jimmy Raye II

Jimmy Raye II

Raye at 49ers training camp in August 2010
No. 30
Position:	Cornerback
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1946-03-26) March 26, 1946 (age 71)
Place of birth:	Fayetteville, North Carolina
Height:	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:	185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school:	E.E. Smith (NC)
College:	Michigan State
NFL Draft:	1968 / Round: 16 / Pick: 431
Career history
As player:
Los Angeles Rams (1968) Philadelphia Eagles (1969)
As coach:
Michigan State (1971–1975) Assistant coach Wyoming (1976) Assistant coach San Francisco 49ers (1977) Wide receivers coach Detroit Lions (1978–1979) Running backs coach Atlanta Falcons (1980–1982) Wide receivers coach Los Angeles Rams (1983–1984) Offensive coordinator Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1985–1986) Offensive coordinator Atlanta Falcons (1987–1989) Wide receivers coach New England Patriots (1990) Offensive coordinator Los Angeles Rams (1991) Wide receivers coach Kansas City Chiefs (1992–2000) Offensive coordinator, running backs coach, tight ends coach Washington Redskins (2001) Offensive coordinator New York Jets (2002–2003) Senior offensive assistant Oakland Raiders (2004–2005) Offensive coordinator New York Jets (2006–2008) Running backs coach San Francisco 49ers (2009–2010) Offensive coordinator Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012–2013) Senior offensive assistant
Player stats at PFR
Coaching stats at PFR

James Arthur Raye, Jr. (born March 26, 1946) is an American football coach and former player who is currently a senior adviser to NFL vice-president Troy Vincent. A book written on his career by award-winning sportswriter Tom Shanahan was published in September 2014 by August Publications titled "Raye of Light: Jimmy Raye, Duffy Daugherty, the integration of college football and the 1965-66 Michigan State Spartans". Tony Dungy, who considers Raye a mentor, wrote the foreword.

As a player, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams for the position of cornerback but was quickly traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. In college, as a quarterback, he was the backup for the Michigan State Spartan football team that played in the 1966 Rose Bowl and started for the 1966 Spartans in the famous 10-10 tie with Notre Dame, a game often referred to as "The Game of the Century." He was the South's first black quarterback to win a national title on the 1966 Michigan State team out of segregated E.E. Smith High in Fayetteville, N.C. The first black quarterback to win a national title was Minnesota's Sandy Stephens in 1960. He was from Uniontown, Pa. Raye and College Football Hall of Famers Bubba Smith (Texas), George Webster (South Carolina) and Gene Washington (Texas) arrived at Michigan State from the segregated South as part of head coach Duffy Daugherty's Underground Railroad.

Raye previously coached the New York Jets following two seasons as the assistant head coach/offensive coordinator of the Oakland Raiders. He brings 29 years of NFL coaching experience, and previously spent two seasons with the Jets, adding the title of assistant head coach in 2003 after serving as senior offensive assistant in 2002. Raye has served as an NFL offensive coordinator for 11 seasons.

Raye was a standout quarterback for the Michigan State Spartans (1965–67) and led the Spartans to two Big Ten titles and the 1966 Rose Bowl. The Fayetteville, North Carolina native began his coaching career in 1971 at his alma mater, Michigan State, where he stayed for five years (1971–75). He served a brief stint at Wyoming in 1976 before moving to the NFL ranks, beginning with the San Francisco 49ers (1977), Detroit Lions (1977–79), Atlanta Falcons (1980–82, 1987–89), the L.A. Rams (1983–84, 1991), Tampa Bay (1985–86) and New England (1990).