Secondary coach hired

Rod Perry, former NFL cornerback and coach has been hired by Coach Mike Riley as the secondary coach at Oregon State. Perry comes to OSU after spending five seasons in Indianapolis, where he was a special assistant on defense for the Indianapolis Colts.

Sources close to the program indicate that Perry was Coach Riley's first choice to replace Keith Heyward, who left Oregon State to take a secondary coaching position with the Washington Huskies a month ago. Riley indicated that he wanted to bring in a coach with extensive ties to the NFL, which Perry has as a player and a coach.

Perry brings years of experience, and few defensive backs coaches have a better resume. After spending nine years as a cornerback for the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns, Perry joined the coaching ranks where he moved up the ladder quickly.

He began coaching at the collegiate level at Columbia University in 1985 and then moved back to his hometown of Fresno where he spent a year as defensive backs coach at Fresno City College and two seasons at Fresno State.

After four years coaching in the college rank, he made the move to coaching defensive backs in the NFL working for several teams and coaching many Pro Bowl selections including Antoine Bethea, Bob Sanders, Rodney Harrison, Ryan McNeil, Darryll Lewis, and Blaine Bishop.

Perry was an All-Big Eight selection at defensive back as a senior at Colorado. He was a D4-75 choice of the Los Angeles Rams, where he played from 1975-82. He earned Pro Bowl honors in 1978 and 1980, totaling 28 interceptions with the club. He is a member of the Rams' 40th Anniversary Team. Perry concluded his playing career with Cleveland from 1983-84, recording two additional interceptions.

Perry was born on September 11, 1953 in Fresno, Calif. Perry and his wife, Patrice, have three children, Rodney, Ryan and Miranda. Rodney was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies, and Ryan played football at the University of Hawaii.

Professional Timeline:

1967-70 Hoover High School (Fresno)

1971-72 Fresno City College (Player, Defensive Back)

1973-74 Colorado University (Player, Defensive Back)

1975-82 Los Angeles Rams (Player, Cornerback)

1983-1984 Cleveland Browns (Player, Cornerback)

1985 - Columbia ; (DB Coach)

1986 - Fresno City College; (First JUCO experience, DB Coach)

1987-88 - Fresno State; (First NCAA experience, DB Coach)

1989-91 - Seattle Seahawks; (DB Coach)

1992-94 - Los Angeles Rams; (DB Coach)

1995-96 - Houston Oilers; (DB Coach)

1997-01 - San Diego Chargers; (DB Coach; Coached for Mike Riley)

2002-06 - Carolina Panthers; (DB Coach)

2007-11 - Indianapolis Colts; (Special Assistant to the Defense; Joined a year after the Super Bowl)

2012 - Oregon State University; (DB Coach - California recruiting territory)