Terry Ray: Still Going Strong After Nearly 20 Years in Professional Football

To say that Terry Ray has a unique perspective on the game of football may be an understatement, as the Belgium native has experienced the game on the high school, collegiate and professional stage—both in the United States and Canada and has also spent time on the other side of the negotiating table as both a scout and agent.

After a bright high school football career, Ray was given the chance to play for the University of Oklahoma Sooners in 1988—an opportunity that in retrospect, Ray calls “a dream come true.”

After four years as a Sooner, Ray was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round of the 1992 NFL Draft.

Although Ray only spent one season with the Falcons—playing in 10 games, he would eventually be picked up off waivers by the New England Patriots in the following offseason. And from there, the former Sooner would be blessed with several opportunities that most players have only dreamt of.

The first, of course, is when Ray and the Patriots won their second AFC championship in franchise history and played in Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans, Louisiana in early 1997.

In front of over 70,000 fans in attendance and nearly 90 million viewers watching around the globe, the Patriots, whose starting lineup included Bruce Armstrong, Drew Bledsoe and Curtis Martin on offense with Ty Law, Willie McGinist, and Lawyer Milloy on the defensive side of the ball, took the field at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans against the then-Mike Holmgren-led Green Bay Packers.

Although Ray admits he was nervous in the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, within a handful of plays, it was business as usual for Ray.

Unfortunately for Ray and the mostly youthful Patriots, New England would eventually fall short against the Packers 35-21.

Another unique opportunity that Ray had as a professional ball player was when he was coached by a pair of Hall of Fame-calibre coaches.

Bill Parcells, who Ray praises for both his honesty and integrity, took the helm of the Patriots in 1993 and within three years—two of which with Ray, had turned a New England squad that hadn’t won a division championship in nearly a decade into conference champions.

Parcells, at that time, had led the New York Giants to victories in Super Bowl XXI and XXV, and since leaving the Patriots in 1996, has been employed in some capacity by the New York Jets, the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins.

Arguably as revered a coach as any in NFL history, Parcells holds 183 victories—including 11 in the postseason as a professional head coach.

Also, Parcells boasts a coaching tree as impressive as any in professional football history; as 10 of Parcells’ former assistant coaches have gone on to hold a head coaching position in the NFL ranks, including Super Bowl champion head coaches Bill Belichek, Tom Coughlin and Sean Payton.

A safety with the Patriots for four seasons, Ray was also fortunate enough to be coached by a certain newly-acquired coach Belichick during his final campaign in New England.

Belichick had been hired as both an assistant head coach and secondary boss after parting ways with the Cleveland Browns following his five-year tenure as the head coach in Cleveland.

Despite advancing to the playoffs with an 11-5 record in 1994, Belichick resigned after a disappointing 5-11 campaign a year later in 1995.

Although many had written Belichick off—due in part to his lack of charisma and perceived arrogance, Ray attests that be believed, if given the opportunity, Belichick would once again do great things in the NFL, although Ray too wasn’t exactly sure what Belichick would be capable of accomplishing.

“I get it now. I could see that there would be good things about him,” explained Ray, “I did know he’d do some good things if he ever got another head coaching job.”

Coincidentally, Belichick’s first and only campaign in New England during his first tour of duty with the Patriots was Ray’s last year in the NFL.

After leaving the NFL in 1999, Ray would go on to play north of the border with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League.

Although Ray was happy to have another opportunity to once again play the game he loved as a professional, he only had one reservation about playing in Canada; our daunting winters.

“All I knew was, Canada equals cold.”

Ray, who would eventually warm up to Canada’s sometimes-harsh climate, would go on to have many several great campaigns in Edmonton.

Despite winning a Grey Cup in 2003 and being honoured with slew of CFL West All-Star nominations, Ray attests that the brightest memories he had in the CFL involved building the Eskimos into a league-powerhouse with his teammates and also the relationships that he held with many of the men that he played with.

After developing a reputation as one of the CFL`s most dangerous and versatile defensive weapons, playing all over the field during his tenure with the Eskimos and winning a Grey Cup, Edmonton parted ways with Ray in 2003—much to the chagrin of his teammates.

Looking back, Ray chalks his release up to the sometimes unfortunate fact that football is a business, and holds no ill-will against the organization he worked so hard to make great.

In 2005, Ray returned to the NFL but this time as a scout for the Washington Redskins organization.

During his time with the ‘Skins, Ray served primarily as an advance pro scout, participating in player evaluations come draft-time and free agency and also scouted the CFL and Arena League for potential prospects, among other duties.

Ray, who remembers his stint as a scout with the Redskins as long hours with little recognition, left Washington after three years in 2008.

When breaking the news that the Redskins had parted ways with Ray, Washington Post journalist Jason Reid wrote, “Ray was known as a hard worker and a good guy around the building, and someone who was well liked by the coaches.”

After leaving Washington, Ray embarked on a new career path—once again inside the world of professional football, but this time as an agent.

At the ProStars Sports Agency since 2008—the same agency by which Ray was represented as an athlete, the former CFL All-Star works in the organization’s coaching division where he represents his coaching clients’ interests.

Ray, who was at one point rumoured to be a potential replacement for Danny Maciocia as the Eskimos’ general manager in 2010, insists he would field calls regarding more front office jobs in professional football and would also help potential ball clubs with any questions or concerns they may come to him with.

When asked "what the future holds for Terry Ray," Ray can’t help but chuckle when he offers that his “future is wide-open.”

With his experience, credentials and positive attitude, it isn’t a stretch to say that Ray’s future is indeed “wide-open.”