Football legend Dan Reeves died at age 77 on Saturday, according to the Atlanta Falcons and multiple media reports.
The former Cowboys running back turned longtime NFL head coach 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,” Reeves' 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 won Super Bowl VI, and got his first job as an assistant on Tom Landry's staff upon retiring from playing in 1972. He later returned to the Super Bowl four times as a head coach, losing each one.
However, including his stint with the New York Giants, Reeves totaled 190 coaching victories — the ninth-most in NFL history. But he was never able to win the biggest game of all, each of them blowout losses.
Reeves, Marv Levy and Bud Grant are the only coaches to lose four times in the Super Bowl, the Associated Press reported.
“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.”
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.
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.
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