Ray "Sugar Bear" Hamilton (born January 20, 1951) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player from 1973 through 1981 for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. He also coached for the Patriots as an assistant defensive line coach in Super Bowl XX. Hamilton got his first shot as a defensive line coach for the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...

. Hamilton was an All Big 8

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early part ...

, being named to the first team in 1971 and 1972. Hamilton is best known for an incident in the 1976 NFL playoffs in a first-round game against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

, when Oakland's

Ken Stabler Kenneth Michael Stabler (December 25, 1945 – July 8, 2015) was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. Nicknamed "Snake", he played c ...

threw an incompletion after Hamilton tipped the ball as he threw. Stabler fell backwards after little or no contact from Hamilton, and the play would have resulted in a fourth down and 18 yards to go. Ben Dreith, the referee, gave the Raiders a first down on a penalty of roughing the passer. Hamilton later was a defensive line coach for nine NFL teams, including the Patriots and Raiders. Before becoming the defensive line coach for the Falcons, he spent the previous five years in the same position with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

. Hamilton spent two seasons as the Defensive Line Coach for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...

from 2001–2002. In his first season with Cleveland, the Browns tied for fourth in the AFC with 43 sacks. For three seasons, Hamilton served as New England Defensive Line Coach from 1997–99 and joined the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...

staff in 2000. His 1998 defensive line tallied 25 of the team 36 sacks, the seventh-best total in the NFL. In 1995, Hamilton joined the Jets in his first stint with the team as the Defensive Line Coach. He guided defensive end Hugh Douglas, who was named the 1995 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. From 1993–94, Hamilton was a member of the Los Angeles Raiders where he developed Chester McGlockton and a defensive line that combined for 83 sacks in his two seasons with the Raiders. In 2006, Hamilton guided defensive end

Bobby McCray Bobby L. McCray, Jr. (born August 8, 1981) is an American former college and professional football player who was a defensive end for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Flo ...

who developed into one of the AFC top pass rushers as he led Jacksonville with a career-high 10 sacks. The defensive line combined for 29.5 sacks, ranking fourth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game. In 2018, Hamilton became the defensive line coach for the Birmingham Iron of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Ray 1951 births Living people American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends Birmingham Iron coaches New England Patriots players New England Patriots coaches Oklahoma Sooners football players Jacksonville Jaguars coaches