Jerry Gray begins his fourth season as the Redskins secondary-cornerbacks coach, after spending the previous five seasons as defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills.
Gray has amassed more than 20 years of NFL experience: nine seasons as a player and 13 as an assistant coach.
In 2008, the Redskins’ secondary was led by veterans Carlos Rogers, Fred Smoot and Shawn Springs. The team added two-time Pro Bowl cornerback DeAngelo Hall midseason.
Rogers had a team-high 32 passes defended with two interceptions and 53 tackles. Hall finished the season with two interceptions in just seven games as a Redskin, and had assumed a starting cornerback position by season’s end.
Gray’s secondary played a key role in the 2008 Redskins defense finishing the season ranked fourth overall in yards allowed per game (288.8) and sixth overall in points allowed per game (18.5).
In 2007, the Redskins’ secondary was diminished by the loss of young starting cornerback Rogers to injured reserve following Week 8, but still managed to finish 16th in the league in passing yards allowed per game (214.0). Springs and Smoot combined for 129 tackles (114 solo), five interceptions and 29 pass deflections.
While with Buffalo in 2005, Gray directed a Bills defense that battled multiple injuries. The unit finished 29th in the league in total defense.
In 2004, Gray led a defense that finished second in the NFL in total defense and top five in the NFL in touchdowns allowed (29), yards allowed per game (264.2), passing yards allowed per game (164.0), sacks registered (45) and led the league with 39 turnovers forced.
He orchestrated a major defensive turnaround in 2003 when his defense finished the year ranked second in the NFL in total defense (second against the pass, eighth against the run). His defense also ranked fifth overall in points allowed in 2003.
Prior to joining the Bills in 2001, Gray spent the previous four seasons as an assistant at the Tennessee Titans, including the last two as defensive backs coach.
He helped Tennessee finish as the NFL’s No. 1 ranked pass defense and total defense in 2000 and also guided two All-Pro starters at each position in the Titans secondary.
Gray originally started with the Titans as the defensive assistant/quality control coach in 1997 before being elevated to the defensive backs position. He broke into the coaching ranks in 1995 as the defensive backs coach at Southern Methodist University.
Gray played nine seasons in the NFL, earning All-Pro honors four times. He played with the Los Angeles Rams (1985-91), Houston Oilers (1992), and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1993) before retiring.
He was a four-time Pro Bowler at cornerback (1986-89) with the Rams, finishing with 28 career interceptions during his nine seasons in the NFL.
He posted a season-high eight interceptions in 1986, just his second year in the NFL. He was also named the NFL’s Defensive Back of the Year in 1989 and earned MVP honors in the 1990 Pro Bowl.
A native of Lubbock, Tex., Gray holds a Bachelor of Science degree in speech communications from the University of Texas.
He was a two-time consensus All-America and two-time Southwest Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a safety at Texas in 1983 and ’84 and was a first-round draft pick (21st overall) of the Los Angeles Rams in 1985.
Gray was a member of the University of Texas’s All-Time Team and All-Decade Team for the 1980s.
At Estacado High School in Lubbock, Gray lettered in football, basketball and track and was inducted into the Texas High School Hall of Fame in 1995. He was recently named to the All-Time Texas High School team.
He and his wife, Sherry, have two sons, Jeremy and Jayden.
