 Reeves in 2014 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 30 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Running back | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1944-01-19)January 19, 1944 Rome, Georgia, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | January 1, 2022(2022-01-01) (aged 77) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Americus (Americus, Georgia) | ||||||||||||||
| College | South Carolina | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1965: undrafted | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||||||||
| Regular season | 190–165–2 (.535) | ||||||||||||||
| Postseason | 11–9 (.550) | ||||||||||||||
| Career | 201–174–2 (.536) | ||||||||||||||
| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference | |||||||||||||||
Daniel Edward Reeves (January 19, 1944 – January 1, 2022) was an American professionalfootballrunning back and coach in theNational Football League (NFL). During his 38 years in the NFL, Reeves participated in nineSuper Bowls, the third most for an individual. He was a head coach for 23 seasons, a position he held with theDenver Broncos from 1981 to 1992, theNew York Giants from 1993 to 1996, and theAtlanta Falcons from 1997 to 2003. As a player, he spent his eight-season career with theDallas Cowboys, who signed him as anundrafted free agent in 1965.
Reeves made his first two Super Bowl appearances during his playing career, winning one inSuper Bowl VI. He began his coaching career in 1972 as an assistant for Cowboys, where he made three championship appearances and was part of the staff that wonSuper Bowl XII. As the head coach of the Broncos for 12 seasons, Reeves led the team to three championship appearances inSuper Bowl XXI,Super Bowl XXII, andSuper Bowl XXIV, each of which ended in defeat. He spent his next four seasons as the head coach of the Giants, winningNFL Coach of the Year in 1993 after bringing the team to the playoffs in his season, although they would not qualify again under him. In his final seven seasons, Reeves was the head coach of the Falcons. His most successful season with the Falcons was in 1998 when he led them to their championship debut inSuper Bowl XXXIII, in which he was defeated by his former team, the Broncos. He also won NFL Coach of the Year a second time, making him the ninth coach to win the award multiple times and the first Falcons coach to receive it.[1] For his accomplishments in Denver, Reeves was inducted to theBroncos Ring of Fame in 2014.
One of only 13 NFL head coaches towin 200 career games, Reeves has the most playoff wins (11, tied withMarv Levy) and Super Bowl appearances (four, tied with Levy andBud Grant) among NFL head coaches to not win a championship. He is also tied withJeff Fisher andBill Belichick for the most regular season losses in NFL history at 165. Reeves andMarty Schottenheimer are the only eligible NFL head coaches with 200 career wins who have not been inducted to thePro Football Hall of Fame.
Born inRome, Georgia, Reeves grew up inAmericus, Georgia. He attendedAmericus High School, where he participated infootball,baseball, andbasketball.[2]
After Reeves missed four games with a broken collarbone during his senior season, only theUniversity of South Carolina was interested enough to offer him a football scholarship. The interest from other schools came later, when he won the MVP trophy at the Georgia High School football All-star game, but he decided to stay with his first choice. Reeves also was selected to the All-state basketball team in 1961.[3]
Reeves playedcollege football for theSouth Carolina Gamecocks, where he was a three-year starter atquarterback from 1962 to 1964. Reeves became the starting quarterback during his sophomore year in 1962 and was named second-team All-conference after his junior and senior years.[4][5]
Even though he only compiled an 8–21–4 (.303) record, Reeves ended his college career as the leading passer in Gamecock history, accumulating 2,561 yards passing, to go along with sixteentouchdowns and three games with 100 rushing yards.[6] Reeves also played for theSouth Carolina Gamecocks baseball team.[7]
In 1977, Reeves was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.[8] In 2006, he was inducted into the State of South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame.[9]
Although he went undrafted after graduation, Reeves received professional sports offers from theDallas Cowboys in theNational Football League (NFL), theSan Diego Chargers in theAmerican Football League (AFL) and thePittsburgh Pirates inMajor League Baseball. Reeves signed with the Cowboys as anundrafted free agent in 1965 to playsafety, but was later moved tohalfback when a series of injuries depleted the team's depth duringtraining camp.[10]
In 1966,Tom Landry, looking for more speed atrunning back, shiftedAll-ProsafetyMel Renfro to offense. Renfro was hurt in the opening game, against theNew York Giants, and Reeves took advantage of his opportunity by having a breakout season, leading the team in rushing with 757 yards and scoring with 96 points, while finishing second in receiving with 557 yards.[11] His performance helped the Cowboys take some of the running load fromfullbackDon Perkins and reach their first championship game. Reeves set a franchise record with sixteen touchdowns (eight rushing and eight receiving), had over 1,300 all-purpose yards, was sixth in the NFL in rushing, first in touchdowns, and sixth in scoring.[12] He was also voted toThe Sporting NewsAll-Pro team at the end of the year.[13]
In 1967, Reeves posted back-to-back seasons with more than 600 rushing yards, ranking second on the team in rushing with 603 yards and third in receiving with 490 yards. In the week 8 game against theAtlanta Falcons, he set a franchise record after scoring four touchdowns.[14] In the week 13 game against thePhiladelphia Eagles, Reeves scored touchdowns rushing, receiving, and passing in the same game.[15] He remained a starter until Week 4 of the1968 season, when he tore ligaments in his left knee and was lost for the season.[16]
The injury ended up hampering Reeves for the remainder of his career and limiting his abilities. Head coachTom Landry started playing him in spots and asked him to become aplayer-coach, while being passed on the depth chart byCalvin Hill andDuane Thomas. Reeves remained in that role for three years, until he retired as an active player to become a full-time assistant coach on February 22, 1972.[17][18]
Reeves played eight seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, collected 1,990 rushing yards, 1,693 receiving yards, and 42 touchdowns.[19] The Cowboys made the playoffs every year, reaching theSuper Bowl twice and culminating in a 24–3 victory over theMiami Dolphins inSuper Bowl VI following the1971 season. InSuper Bowl V with the Cowboys and Colts tied at 13 in the last two minutes, he let a pass go through his hands that was intercepted, setting up the Colts in Dallas territory. The Colts won the game on a 32-yardfield goal fromJim O'Brien with five seconds left. He threw a touchdown pass in the Cowboys' losing effort in the legendary subzeroIce Bowl against theGreen Bay Packers for the1967 NFL title.[20]
In 2010, Reeves was inducted into theTexas Sports Hall of Fame.[21]
Reeves, a protégé ofTom Landry, became the youngesthead coach in the NFL when he joined theDenver Broncos in1981 as vice president and head coach. After acquiring quarterbackJohn 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,Super Bowl XXII, andSuper Bowl XXIV) during his twelve-year tenure. 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.[22] Reeves and Elway did not always see eye-to-eye, to the point where quarterbackTommy Maddox was drafted by the Broncos in the first round of the1992 draft. This came off the heels of the1991 season in which Reeves had fired offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coachMike Shanahan for "insubordination", as Reeves felt that Shanahan was driving a wedge between him and Elway, who said in 1990 that his relationship with Reeves was "the worst."[23][24] Reeves was fired after the1992 season[25] and replaced by his protégé and friendWade Phillips, who was previously the Broncos' defensive coordinator.[26] Upon the death of Reeves in 2022, Elway stated that Reeves was a "winner" and said he owed a good deal of his career to Reeves.[27]
Reeves was hired as head coach by theNew York Giants for the1993 season. In his first season, he led the Giants to an 11–5 record and a berth in the playoffs. Reeves's 1993 season record is the best ever for a first-year Giants coach, and he was named the 1993Associated Press Coach of the Year after helping them improve from a 6–10 record in1992.[28] Reeves was fired after the Giants went 5–11 in1995 and 6–10 in1996.[29]
In 1997, Reeves was named the head coach of theAtlanta Falcons. Under his command the team, which had finished the1996 campaign with a 3–13 record, steadily improved. After going 7–9 in his first season in1997, the Falcons went 14–2 in1998, going on to capture their firstNFC Championship. He became the third coach (afterBill Parcells andChuck Knox) to lead three different franchises to the playoffs.[23] Reeves coached the Falcons to a 12–2 record before being hospitalized for the final two regular season games to undergoquadruple-bypass heart surgery in December. Reeves managed to return to the sidelines just three weeks later to lead the Falcons to victory against theMinnesota Vikings in theNFC Championship Game. DuringSuper Bowl XXXIII, Reeves's Falcons were pitched against his former team, the defending championDenver Broncos whose quarterback Elway was in his final season that had Shanahan as head coach. The Falcons lost, 34–19.[30] In the process, Reeves earned the NFL's top coaching awards as he was named the 1998NFL Coach of the Year.[31] In2003, after winning just three of the first thirteen games, Reeves was fired and the Falcons replaced him withWade Phillips as interim coach for three games.[32]
In 2007, Reeves had an active role in the startup ofGeorgia State University'sfootball program.[33] In January 2009, Reeves interviewed with theSan Francisco 49ers for their offensive coordinator job.[34] After negotiations with the Dallas Cowboys, Reeves became a consultant for the team in February 2009. This role was short-lived, lasting two days before Reeves turned in the keys to his office and left. Reeves and the Cowboys could apparently not reach conclusions as to Reeves's 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.[34]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| DEN | 1981 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 2nd in AFC West | – | – | – | – |
| DEN | 1982 | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 5th in AFC West | – | – | – | – |
| DEN | 1983 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2nd in AFC West | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost toSeattle Seahawks inAFC wild card game |
| DEN | 1984 | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 1st in AFC West | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost toPittsburgh Steelers inAFC Divisional Game |
| DEN | 1985 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 2nd in AFC West | – | – | – | – |
| DEN | 1986 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 1st in AFC West | 2 | 1 | .667 | Lost toNew York Giants inSuper Bowl XXI |
| DEN | 1987 | 10 | 4 | 1 | .700 | 1st in AFC West | 2 | 1 | .667 | Lost toWashington Redskins inSuper Bowl XXII |
| DEN | 1988 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2nd in AFC West | – | – | – | – |
| DEN | 1989 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 1st in AFC West | 2 | 1 | .667 | Lost toSan Francisco 49ers inSuper Bowl XXIV |
| DEN | 1990 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 5th in AFC West | – | – | – | – |
| DEN | 1991 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 1st in AFC West | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost toBuffalo Bills inAFC Championship Game |
| DEN | 1992 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3rd in AFC West | – | – | – | – |
| DEN total | 110 | 73 | 1 | .601 | 7 | 6 | .538 | |||
| NYG | 1993 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 2nd in NFC East | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost toSan Francisco 49ers inNFC Divisional Game |
| NYG | 1994 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2nd in NFC East | – | – | – | – |
| NYG | 1995 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 4th in NFC East | – | – | – | – |
| NYG | 1996 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 5th in NFC East | – | – | – | – |
| NYG total | 31 | 33 | 0 | .484 | 1 | 1 | .500 | |||
| ATL | 1997 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 2nd in NFC West | – | – | – | – |
| ATL | 1998 | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 1st in NFC West | 2 | 1 | .667 | Lost toDenver Broncos inSuper Bowl XXXIII |
| ATL | 1999 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 3rd in NFC West | – | – | – | – |
| ATL | 2000 | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 5th in NFC West | – | – | – | – |
| ATL | 2001 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3rd in NFC West | – | – | – | – |
| ATL | 2002 | 9 | 6 | 1 | .594 | 2nd in NFC South | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost toPhiladelphia Eagles inNFC Divisional Game |
| ATL | 2003 | 3 | 10 | 0 | .231 | Fired mid-season | – | – | – | – |
| ATL total | 49 | 59 | 1 | .454 | 3 | 2 | .600 | |||
| Total[35] | 190 | 165 | 2 | .535 | 11 | 9 | .550 | |||
Reeves covered NFL games as acolor analyst (teamed with play-by-play manBill Rosinski) for the second Sunday afternoon game on theWestwood One radio network.[36][37]
Reeves was married to Pam Reeves, and had three children and six grandchildren.[38] Reeves and his future wife dated in high school, where she was a cheerleader.[2] While coaching for the Giants, Reeves and his wife were residents ofHo-Ho-Kus, New Jersey.[39] He was a Christian.[40]
Reeves' nephew isDavid Andrews, who played for theNew England Patriots.[41][42] His son-in-law,Joe DeCamillis, is a longtime NFL assistant.[43]
Reeves died from complications ofdementia at his home in Atlanta on the morning of January 1, 2022, aged 77.[7]
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