Columbia Standard

NFL player and coach Dan Reeves, who led the 1998-99 “Dirty Birds” Atlanta Falcons to the team’s first Super Bowl appearance, recently passed away in his Atlanta home.

According to Gamecocks Online, family members said the 77-year-old Reeves died of complications from dementia "peacefully and surrounded by his loving family at his home in Atlanta. His legacy will continue through his many friends, players and fans, as well as the rest of the NFL community."

He served as a starting quarterback for the South Carolina Gamecocks from 1962 to 1964. "At the end of his collegiate career, Reeves was the leading passer in Gamecock history, accumulating 2,561 yards passing, to go along with 16 touchdowns and three games with 100 rushing yards," according to Gamecocks Online.

Dan Reeves | Wikimedia Commons/Jeffrey Beall

In all, Reeves, who won a Super Bowl as a player with the Dallas Cowboys, made four title game appearances as a coach. For his career, he is just one of nine coaches in NFL history to win 200 games, including the playoffs.

In winning Coach of the Year honors with both the Atlanta Falcons and the New York Giants, he is one of just six coaches to win the award with multiple franchises.

When he was just 37 in 1981, Reeves landed his first coaching job with the Denver Broncos, where, alongside star quarterback John Elway, he led the team to three Super Bowls over the course of 12 years. After leaving the Broncos, he headed to New York to coach the Giants in 1993. After four seasons, he moved on to coach the Atlanta Falcons, which brought him to back to his home state of Georgia. He remained with the Falcons until 2003.

In 1977, he was inducted into the University of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame. And in 2006, he was welcomed into the State of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame. Reeves ended his NFL coaching career with a record of 190-165-2.