Former Falcons head coach, Georgia born Dan Reeves dies at age 77

METRO ATLANTA — Former NFL player and longtime head coach of numerous teams-including the Atlanta Falcons-Dan Reeves has died at the age of 77.

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Reeves was born in Rome, Georgia, and attended high school in southwest Georgia at Americus High School. He went to college at the University of South Carolina, where he played quarterback from 1962-1964.

While he did not get drafted by an NFL team in 1965, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys and made the transition to halfback. He played for the Cowboys for eight seasons before retiring as an active player in 1972. Cowboys head coach Tom Landry hired Reeves to be an assistant coach shortly thereafter.

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Reeves became the youngest head coach in the NFL when he was hired to take over the Denver Broncos in 1981. He coached the Broncos for 12 seasons, making it to the Super Bowl twice.

In 1993, he became the head coach of the New York Giants for four seasons and after being let go by the Giants, Reeves was hired to be the coach of the Atlanta Falcons for the 1997 season.

Just one year later, he led the 1998 “Dirty Birds” version of the Falcons to their first ever Super Bowl appearance against the Broncos in Miami.

Reeves remained the Falcons head coach for the next four seasons before being let go by new owner Arthur Blank during the 2003 season.

Blank and the Falcons released a statement about their former coach late Saturday morning.

“Dan Reeves leaves a lasting legacy in our game as a player and coach. 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,” said Arthur M. Blank, Atlanta Falcons owner and chairman. “On behalf of the Atlanta Falcons I extend our condolences to Dan’s family and friends as they mourn his passing.”

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Since his retirement from coaching, Reeves would occasionally pop on sports talk shows and briefly worked for Westwood One Radio doing NFL games. He remained one of the most popular former Falcon coaches for years after being fired.

According to a statement released to the Associated Press: “Reeves died of complications from dementia.” The statement said he died “peacefully and surrounded by his loving family at his home in Atlanta.”

The Associated Press Contributed information for this story.

Georgia defeats Michigan in Orange Bowl, setting up national title rematch with Alabama

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