HEADING HOME: James Perry, center, enjoys the moment with Bryant University Director of Athletics Bill Smith and Bryant President Ronald K. Machtley after he was named as the head coach of the school’s football program this January. Perry served as the offensive coordinator for the Princeton University football team for the last seven seasons. Employing a no-huddle, up-tempo style under Perry’s guidance, Princeton won Ivy League titles in 2013 and 2016. For Perry, a record-breaking quarterback at Brown University, taking the helm at Bryant amounts to a homecoming as the school is located about 10 miles from his alma mater. (Photo Courtesy of Bryant Athletic Communications)

As the offensive coordinator for the Princeton University football team over the last seven seasons, James Perry favored a fast and physical approach.

Employing a no-huddle, up-tempo style under Perry’s guidance, Princeton rolled to a share of the 2013 Ivy League title, setting league records for points (43.7) and yards (511.6) per game in an 8-2 campaign.

Last fall, using a two-quarterback system that kept foes off balance, Princeton earned a second league title in four years, leading the Ivies in points (34.6) and yards (415.5) per contest.

Perry’s rise up the coaching ladder had mirrored the relentless brand of football he has taught his players.

Upon graduating from Brown in 2000 after a brilliant career that saw him set a slew of passing records as one of the greatest quarterbacks in Ivy history, Perry took a job as assistant coach with Dartmouth in 2001.

From there, he had assistant coaching stints at Williams College (2002-04), Maryland (2004-05), Delaware (2006), and Brown (2007-2010) before coming to Princeton as offensive coordinator.

Now, Perry, 39, is taking a major step, getting named as the head coach of the Bryant University football program, both achieving a professional goal and  enjoying a homecoming as the school is located in Smithfield, R.I., about 10 miles from his college alma mater.

“I have been itching at it, to be honest, for a couple of years,” said Perry, who has three young children with his wife Abby, a Brown alumna.

“It had to be the right spot for the family. Once you start doing that, the opportunities really shrink. The likelihood that I am going to go to the middle of the country and move the family there isn’t very good. There are not that many jobs out there. Not only did I feel that I prepared well for this, I instantly identified it as a really unique and special opportunity for me and the family. Our connections to Rhode Island are ready made.”

While Perry initially got into coaching as a way to keep in condition in case he got a shot at playing pro football, he quickly realized he had found his calling.

“My first year in coaching was at Dartmouth and in the back of my head, I actually thought that this would be a good way to stay in shape in case I was able to get another opportunity to play,” said Perry, who played in NFL Europe and the Arena Football League after his Brown career. “By the end of the year of coaching, I said this is what I want to do.”

It is not surprising that Perry came to that conclusion, considering that coaching is the Perry family business as his father, Ernest, and five of his siblings have been, or are coaches.

“I was lucky, I had a lot of connections to make stuff happen from a coaching perspective as far as getting started because I had brothers and a dad who all coached,” said Perry.

In Perry’s view, his stop at Williams, where he worked under Dick Farley, solidified his desire to stay in coaching.

“The biggest thing about working for him was if I didn’t already enjoy football enough, I totally loved it at the point,” said the affable Perry, a native of Andover, Mass. who has retained his Boston accent.

“He is a guy that makes coaching the game a lot of fun. He always had a lot of respect for his assistants. I directly draw on what I still do to this day from my experience with him.”

Perry drew on some lessons from one of his brothers in adapting his trademark up-tempo style.

“My brother John is a New Hampshire guy and he worked with Chip Kelly (former head coach of Oregon, the Philadelphia Eagles, and San Francisco 49ers) in those early 2000 years when Chip was starting to bring up-tempo to New Hampshire,” said Perry.

“I would always be on the outside looking in. Ultimately John became a head coach and he employed it with great success. That was a big influence with the up-tempo stuff.”

Ending up coaching at his alma mater under his college coach Phil Estes gave Perry a deeper look at what it takes to lead a team.

“That is a huge influence on me, seeing how to run a football program like he has done for now 20 years is incredible,” said Perry.

“It is how to do things right; with the clip that he was won at and how high they achieve off the field as well. Sometimes people throw around ‘someone is the best coach at that school.’ Phil is literally the best coach in Brown’s history.”

In 2010, Perry took his talents to Ivy rival Princeton, moving up to offensive coordinator and developing an immediate bond with new Tiger head coach Bob Surace.

“Going to the offensive coordinator position was a big promotion,” said Perry.

“I had been introduced a little bit to Princeton and I had a way to connect with Bob to make it happen. I wouldn’t want to be leaving for the rival but I was QB coach and I was able to become the offensive coordinator. It was a neat progression.”

Things didn’t go so neatly at first as Princeton posted back-to back 1-9 seasons in the first two years of the Surace regime.

By 2012, Perry sensed that the program had turned the corner and focused on imparting that confidence to his players.

“It is making sure that the kids knew how much better we had become,” said Perry, reflecting on the team’s 5-5 campaign.

“Sometimes as a coach, you know how you are practicing. You know that, even though you lost a close game, that we played really well. As a coach who has coached 16 years, other people might not see that.”

The next season, Princeton played really well, rolling up impressive offensive numbers on the way to the Ivy title.

“That we were not only able to win the championship but would win so many close games was due to a belief that it was going to happen,” said Perry.

“It was a testament to a lot of that hard work that we put in and what Bob had instilled in the program at that point. When you are in the midst of it, it was just a lot of fun. Throughout those close games, universally everybody had confidence that we would win. That is a pretty remarkable thing in and of itself.”

Last fall, Princeton showed remarkable resilience, bouncing back from a crushing 23-20 overtime loss to Harvard in late October to reel off four straight wins and tie Penn for the league crown.

“One of my most proud moments in all of coaching was in the heels of that heartbreaking overtime loss to Harvard just how well we practiced the whole week and how badly we hammered Penn (28-0),” said Perry.

“The kids were really amazing because that was a home game and rival game and we lost it in overtime in a very difficult way but Tuesday came around and the kids were incredible. It was a great lesson; I will refer back to that a lot with the teams I coach at Bryant. Whether we have a win or a tough loss, being able to come back out there on Tuesday and practice hard is really the key.”

Over his time at Princeton, Perry learned a lot of key lessons from Surace.

“Bob does a really good job of managing a whole team through the ups and downs of the season,” said Perry, lauding Surace for creating a family-friendly atmosphere around the program.

“In the off season, he maintains a steady hand. Football is a very passionate sport. At practice and in the games, it is important to have passion but especially in the offseason and team management decisions,
having that steady hand that Bob has is something I will try to bring to Bryant.”

As he gets up and running in his new job, Perry has already developed a passion for Bryant.

“The school just blows me away, the more I learn about it, the more excited I am to be here,” said Perry.

“I couldn’t speak more highly of it, it has been awesome. Every school has its own unique way of doing things so it is almost like no matter what you have done or what you have been exposed to, there are things that are particular to Bryant that you have to navigate. It is one of the type of places where a half dozen coaches come in within the first week of me being here and trying to help me navigate finishing this recruiting class.”

Recruiting was at the top of Perry’s to-do list upon taking the helm. “I am immersed in it; the biggest challenge is that in recruiting conversations  normally you have weeks, if not months, to do that,” said Perry, who ended up attracting a class of 29 by the February 1 signing day that included players from eight different states, including 17 signees from New England and five from the state of Rhode Island. “I am having a singular sit down and I have another appointment to get to, not only is it rushed but I have to keep on time.”

Now Perry is looking to spend quality time with the players returning from a Bulldogs team that went 5-6 in 2016.

“I think we need, in order to play the way we want, to have a huge winter,” said Perry. “How we lift, run, and train for the next eight weeks is so critical.”

Perry, for his part, is confident that he can can make a huge impact at Bryant.

“The school and the football program have made great strides and great growth over the last 10 years, including the transition to Division I,” said Perry.

“It allows me the opportunity to have a longer horizon to watch the program grow around me so I am excited about that.”