PHILADELPHIA (Audacy) — Football legend Dan Reeves died at age 77 on Saturday, according to the Atlanta Falcons and multiple media reports.
The former Dallas Cowboys running back and assistant coach, and a longtime head coach for the Denver Broncos, New York Giants, and the Falcons died peacefully at his Georgia home of complications from dementia, the Falcons said, citing his family.
“His legacy will continue through his many friends, players and fans as well as the rest of the NFL community,” the family said.
Reeves was an underdog success story as a player with the Cowboys, carving out a solid eight-year career as a running back after going undrafted out of the University of South Carolina. He was on the Dallas team that made Super Bowl V and won Super Bowl VI, and got his first job as an assistant on Tom Landry's staff, making three Super Bowls and winning with the Cowboys in Super Bowl XII. He later returned to the Super Bowl four times as a head coach, losing each one.
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Reeves totaled 190 coaching victories with the Denver Broncos, New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons, the ninth-most regular-season coaching wins in NFL history. But he was never able to win the biggest game of all, each of them being blowout losses.
Reeves, Marv Levy, and Bud Grant are the only coaches to lose four times in the Super Bowl, the Associated Press reported. Both Levy and Grant have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but Reeves has not yet received that honor.
“Dan Reeves leaves a lasting legacy in our game as a player and coach,” said Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who fired Reeves from his final job in 2003. “His track record of success in Dallas, Denver, New York and Atlanta over several decades speaks for itself, marking a long and successful life and career in football.”
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A native of Rome, Georgia, Reeves finished out his coaching career with his home-state Falcons, reaching his fourth Super Bowl with Atlanta after his stints in New York and Denver.
Reeves played twice each season against the Eagles during his playing career in Dallas, except the 1969 campaign. His Cowboys went 11-2 against Philly those years. Philadelphia did better against Reeves in his coaching years, going 14-11 against his teams. One of those wins was the 2002 NFC Divisional Playoff, where the Eagles beat his Falcons, 20-6.
Tributes and remembrances poured in for the famously mild-mannered Reeves, whose longevity and winning ways with several franchises long made him a recognizable figure around the league.
Jay Sorgi contributed to this report.
