Jim Fassel, Former New York Giants Head Coach, Dead at 71
Jim Fassel, former NFL head coach of the New York Giants, died on Monday night, his son John told [...]
Jim Fassel, former NFL head coach of the New York Giants, died on Monday night, his son John told the Los Angeles Times. He was 71 years old. Fassel died of a heart attack while under sedation after being taken to a hospital Monday with chest pains. He was living in Las Vegas at the time.
Fassel was the Giants head coach from 1997-2003. In his seven seasons with the Giants. He posted a 58-53-1 record and led the team to the playoffs three times. In 2000, the Giants finished the regular season with a 12-4 record and reached the Super Bowl. The team lost to the Baltimore Ravens in the big game 34-7.
One of the more underrated soundbites in NFL history—Jim Fassel guaranteeing his @Giants would make the playoffs. From there, they won 7 straight and made the Super Bowl. His coordinators that year? @SeanPayton and John Fox.
RIP to a good man. pic.twitter.com/Ma55CWTATB
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) June 8, 2021
After his stint with the Giants, Fassel joined the Ravens in 2004 as a senior offensive consultant and was then promoted to the team's offensive coordinator in 2005. Fassel was the Ravens offensive coordinator for two seasons and then joined the United Football League in 2009. He was the head coach of the Las Vegas Locomotives and led the team to back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010.
Before becoming the head coach of the Giants, Fassel spent time in the college ranks. From 1985-1989, Fassel was the head coach of Utah and posted a 25-33 record. He then joined the Giants as the team's offensive coordinator in 1991. Fassel also was an assistant coach for the Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders and Arizona Cardinals before becoming the Giants head coach. In 1997, Fassel was named NFL Coach of the Year after leading the squad to a 10-5-1 record.
"It was a great time, a great time," Fassel said in an interview at his home in Manhattan Beach, California in 2014 as reported by Giants.com. "People ask me, 'Wasn't the media awful to you?' No, I'm friends with a lot of them. I respect the media. They have a job to do. I'll tell you what, I was with [five] different franchises [including Baltimore, where he served as an assistant post-Giants], but the Giants is how I learned to coach in the NFL, mainly from [the late general manager and Pro Football Hall of Famer] George Young."