Former Giants coach Jim Fassel died Monday night at the age of 71, his son John confirmed to the Los Angeles Times.
Fassel suffered a heart attack and died under sedation in, according to the LA Times report a local hospital near where he lives in Las Vegas. He had chest pain on Monday and was rushed to the hospital by a friend.
Fassel coached the Giants from 1997 to 2003, won NFL coach of the year in 1997, and led the team to Super Bowl XXXV three years later where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens. With Big Blue he reached the playoffs three times and set a 58-53-1 record, but got no further opportunity to become head coach in the NFL after his dismissal from the Giants. He was also an assistant on the team from 1991 to 1992.
Fassel was born in Anaheim, California, and graduated from Anaheim High School before playing at Fullerton College, USC, and Long Beach State football. He was drafted by the Bears in 1972 to play quarterback, but had a brief playing career and that year switched between three teams prior to his appearances in the CFL and the World Football League.
He began his coaching career shortly thereafter and became finally offensive coordinator for Stanford University, where he recruited John Elway and made him No. 1 overall in 1983.
From 1985 to 1989 he was head coach at the University of Utah before joining the NFL, where he served as Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach worked for a number of teams, including the Giants and Broncos, where he reunited with Elway. His tenure as Giants head coach ran from 1997 to 2003 and was full of ups and downs – his 2002 team lost a 24-point lead over the 49ers in the playoffs – but Giants fans fondly remembered him .
His last coaching experience was in the now defunct United Football League, where he led the Las Vegas Locomotives to two championships in 2009 and 2010.
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