Jim Fassel historic NY Giants coach dies at 71

Jim Fassel, the former Giants coach, died Monday night . His son, John Fassel, who is a special teams coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, told the Los Angeles Times that he took his father to a Las Vegas hospital for chest pains and died while being treated.In his career, Fassel was Coach of the Year in 1997 , he led the Giants from 1997 to 2003 with a record of 58 wins, 53 losses and 1 draw. He reached the Super Bowl in February 2001, but lost it 34-7 to the Baltimore Ravens.Fassel’s 58 wins rank him only behind Steve Owen (153), Tom Coughlin (102) and Bill Parcells (77) among NY Giants coaching history. Owen and Parcells are Hall of Famers, while Parcells and Coughlin each won two Super Bowls.Former defender Michael Strahan, who was coached by Fassel at the Giants, declared Tuesday: “Jim was a great man, a great coach, and he will be missed .” He also took the opportunity to send condolences to the Fassel family on the Good Morning America program , of which he is a participant.On Twitter, messages to pass me on to the family abounded. Tiki Barber was one of those who made present his grief at the loss of Jim, writing: “He challenged me to perfect the little things, and allowed me to run with the big ones.”Current Giants coach Joe Judge spoke of Fassel’s ties to the team. “It is a real honor to be in the same position as all these great coaches.”

Jim Fassel was born in Anaheim, California, on August 31, 1949 . He played quarterback at Fullerton College, USC and Long Beach State. He was selected by the Chicago Bears in 1972 and played a brief time in the NFL and the World Football League.He worked as a highly regarded offensive coordinator with the Giants in 1991 and 1992. He then coordinated the Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders and Arizona Cardinals, all before returning to the Giants following the firing of Dan Reeves as coach.He came to the Giants in 1997 when they were going through years in which they missed the playoffs five of the last six times. He immediately turned things around and closed the season with a record of 10 wins, 5 losses and 1 draw. This led the Giants to the NFC East title, their first since they won the Super Bowl in 1991 under Parcells.Due to the death of his father, John Fassel will not appear at the Cowboys’ mini-camp this week. Meanwhile, his assistant, Matt Daniels, will lead the special teams practice.