Former Cowboys player NFL head coach Dan Reeves dies at 77

During the 23 seasons as head coach, Reeves ended his career in the regular season record 190-165-2. He led his team to nine post-season places and was in the playoffs 11-9.

Reeves, a native of Georgia, died three weeks after his 78th birthday.

He played college ball in South Carolina as a quarterback, but went blank before joining Tom Landry’s Cowboys in 1965. Dallas won 7-7 that season but won every season since Reeves ’career. He ended his day on the field with 1,990 yards and 25 touchdowns in eight seasons – his best performance was in 1966, when the midfielder reached a team height of 757 yards and eight touchdowns. A versatile back whose career was eventually slowed by a knee injury, Reeves also received 129 receptions at 1,693 yards and 17 touch points.

Reeves, who began his coaching career as a backfield coach in Dallas in 1975, was the offensive coordinator for Cowboys from 1977-1980 before becoming head coach of the Broncos in 1981 when he was only 37 years old. Under the umbrella of Reeves, the Broncos became an AFC power plant in the 1980s. In his ten seasons with the club, Reeves served as Denver captain in six playoffs, five division titles and three Super Bowl runners-up.

In 1993, Reeves started as head coach of the Giants and produced 11-5 in the first of four Big Blue campaigns of the season.

“Dan Reeves had a legendary NFL career as both a player and a coach,” Giants owner and president John Mara said in a statement. “He made an indelible mark on the League and all the people he played with, coached and worked with. He was one of the best men I have ever been in this field. Our deepest condolences to Pam and the entire Reeves family.”

His career ended in seven seasons, leading the Falcons. Reeves piloted the “Dirty Bird” Falcons in 1998, when the team finished 14-2 in the regular season and marched into the first Super Bowl of the series before losing to Reeves’ old team, the Broncos.

“Dan Reeves leaves a lasting legacy as a player and coach in our game. His success in Dallas, Denver, New York and Atlanta over several decades speaks for itself, which means a long and successful life and career in football,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank said in a statement. “On behalf of the Atlanta Falcons, I extend our condolences to Dan’s family and friends as they mourn his death.”

As a member of the Broncos Ring of Fame, Reeves learned under Landry as a player and then as a coach at the Cowboys. He then helped build one of the most successful chapters in Broncos history. He was a success with every franchise series he was involved in, playing and coaching countless Hall of Famers, and eventually left a lasting legacy for nearly four decades in the NFL.