Dan Reeves

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (August 2008)

Dan Reeves
Date of birth	January 19, 1944 (1944-01-19) (age 65)
Place of birth	Rome, Georgia
Position(s)	Head Coach Running back
College	South Carolina
Career record	190-165-2
Championships       won	1998 NFC Championship 1989 AFC Championship 1987 AFC Championship 1986 AFC Championship
Stats
Playing stats	Pro Football Reference
Playing stats	DatabaseFootball
Coaching stats	Pro Football Reference
Coaching stats	DatabaseFootball
Team(s) as a player
1965-1972	Dallas Cowboys
Team(s) as a coach/administrator
1972,1974-1980 1981-1992 1993-1996 1997-2003	Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos New York Giants Atlanta Falcons

Daniel Edward Reeves (born January 19, 1944 in Rome, Georgia) is a former American football player and head coach. He played in two Super Bowls, Super Bowl V and Super Bowl VI and also coached in four more, Super Bowl XXI, Super Bowl XXII and Super Bowl XXIV as the Denver Broncos' head coach, and Super Bowl XXXIII as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. He currently works as an analyst for the Westwood One radio network covering NFL games.

[edit] Early life

Reeves was born in Rome, Georgia, and grew up in Americus, Georgia. He attended the University of South Carolina, where he played quarterback from 1962-1964 and was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1977^[1].

[edit] Playing career

Over eight seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, Reeves collected 1,990 rushing yards and 1,693 receiving yards.^[2] His best year came in 1966, when he rushed for seven touchdowns, good for a tie for second in the league.^[3] Reeves threw a touchdown pass in the Cowboys' losing effort in the legendary "Ice Bowl;" the 1967 Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers.^[4] The Cowboys made the playoffs every year of Reeves's playing days, reaching the Super Bowl twice and culminating in a 24-3 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI following the 1971 season. In Super Bowl V with the Cowboys winning the game against the Colts, in the last 2 minutes Dan Reeves let a pass go through his hands and it was intercepted, setting up the Colts in Dallas territory. The Colts would win the game on a 32-yard field goal from Jim O'Brien with 5 seconds left. In the offseason, Reeves worked as a salesman for Gifford-Hill, a concrete plant in Grand Prairie, Texas. ^[5][6]

[edit] Coaching career

Reeves, a protege of Tom Landry, became the youngest head coach in the NFL when he joined the Denver Broncos in 1981 as Vice President and Head Coach. After acquiring quarterback John Elway in a trade, Reeves guided the Broncos to six post-season appearances, five divisional titles, three AFC championships and three Super Bowl appearances (Super Bowl XXI, XXII and XXIV) during his 12-year tenure. Reeves was fired after the 1992 season and replaced by his protege and friend Wade Phillips.

He was the only AFC coach in the decade of the 1980s to lead his team to consecutive Super Bowl berths and his Broncos appeared in the Super Bowl three times during a span of four years.

Reeves served as New York Giants head coach from 1993-1996. In his first season he led the Giants to an 11–5 record and a berth in the playoffs. Reeves' 1993 season record is the best ever for a first-year Giants coach. Reeves was named the 1993 Associated Press Coach of the Year after helping the Giants improve from a 6-10 record in 1992. Reeves was fired again after the Giants went 5–11 in 1995 and 6–10 in 1996.

In 1997 Reeves was named the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Under his command the team, which had finished the 1996 campaign with a 3–13 record, steadily improved. After going 7-9 his first season, Reeves took Atlanta to the greatest season in franchise history.

The Falcons went 14–2 in 1998, going on to capture their first NFC championship. Reeves coached the Falcons to a 12–2 record before being hospitalized for the final two regular season games to undergo quadruple-bypass heart surgery in December. Reeves managed to return to the sidelines just three weeks later to lead the Falcons to victory in their first NFC Championship. Reeves' Falcons were pitched against the Denver Broncos and lost Super Bowl XXXIII 34-19. In the process, Reeves earned the NFL's top coaching awards as he was named the 1998 NFL Coach of the Year.

In 2003, after winning just 3 of the first 13 games, Reeves asked to be released and the Falcons replaced him with Wade Phillips as interim coach for 3 games, making it the second time for Reeves to be replaced by Phillips as an NFL head coach. Recently, Reeves has played an active role in the starting of Georgia State University's football program.

In January 2009, Dan Reeves interviewed with the San Francisco 49ers for their offensive coordinator job.

After negotiations with the Dallas Cowboys (which, coincidentally, had Phillips as their head coach), Reeves became a consultant for the team in February 2009. This role was short-lived, however, as it only lasted two days before Reeves turned in the keys to his office and hit the road. Reeves and the Cowboys could apparently not reach conclusions as to Reeves' role with the team. In the days following, it was revealed that the dispute came down to a contract clause specifying a number of hours per week to be worked, which Reeves deemed insulting.

[edit] Head coaching record

[edit] Broadcast career

Reeves currently covers NFL games as a color analyst (teamed with play-by-play man Bill Rosinski) for the second Sunday afternoon game on Westwood One radio network. In addition to his work on the radio broadcast, Dan Reeves also speaks at corporate and football events around the country.

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] See also

• History of the New York Giants (1979-1993)
• History of the New York Giants (1994-present)

[edit] External links

• University of South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame Page
• Database Football player page
• Pro Football Reference coach page
• United Methodist Church profile
• Reeves Comments Rekindle Feud with Elway, Shanahan (1/24/1998)
• ESPN “Sunday Conversation” with Reeves (1/19/1999)
• Reeves Beats Owner to the Punch (12/11/2003)
• NFLlegend to speak at island events (Article on Reeves and his Christian faith) (6/14/2006)
• Dan Reeves Hired as Football Consultant at Georgia State (4/11/2007)

[edit] Further reading

Reeves: An Autobiography, by Dan Reeves and Dick Connor (1998) ISBN 9780933893641.