<P> The following season, Berry's Patriots again recorded an 11--5 record and made the playoffs, but this time lost in the first round of the postseason . That was the final time the Patriots made the playoffs with Berry as their coach . They narrowly missed the playoffs with an 8--7 record in 1987 (a strike - shortened season) and a 9--7 record in 1988 . Then in Berry's last year as a coach, the Patriots finished the 1989 season 5--11 . New Patriots team owner Victor Kiam demanded Berry relinquish control over personnel and reorganize his staff; Berry refused and was fired . His regular season coaching record was 48--39 (. 552) and he was 3--2 (. 600) in the playoffs . </P> <P> After a year out of coaching, Berry joined Wayne Fontes' staff with the Detroit Lions in 1991 as their quarterbacks coach, and then held the same position the following season on Dan Reeves' staff with the Denver Broncos . Reeves was fired after that season, along with his entire coaching staff . </P> <P> Berry overcame several physical ailments during his football career, a fact he became famous for, but one that according to Berry was often exaggerated by the media . He was skinny and injury prone, such that when his college teammates saw him for the first time they sarcastically dubbed him, "Jack Armstrong, the All - American Boy". Reportedly, because one leg was shorter than the other, Berry had to wear padding inside his shoe in order to walk properly . However, according to Berry, this was not entirely true . In actuality, bruised nerves near the sacroiliac joint occasionally caused misalignment in his back, which in turn affected his legs and caused one to become slightly shorter; it was not a permanent condition . To alleviate this, he wore a back brace for 13 years in the NFL . That he required specialized shoes was a myth, which Berry says was perpetuated by an overzealous information director with the Colts when Berry tried to compensate for his condition by putting something in his shoe during training camp . </P> <P> Due to his poor eyesight, Berry wore contact lenses when he played . Because the lenses would often slip when he did rapid eye movements toward the ball, he tried many different lenses, which led sportswriters to believe he must have had major eye problems . "I tried all kinds of lenses till we got what we wanted," he said . "I even had tinted lenses for sunny days, so I could watch the ball come right across the sun ." </P>

Who wore number 24 for the baltimore colts