Former NY Giants coach Jim Fassel dead at 71

FILE - In this Nov. 27, 2010, file photo, then Las Vegas head coach Jim Fassel, center, looks on from the sideline during their United Football League title game against Florida in Omaha, Neb.  (AP Photo/Dave Weaver, File)

Jim Fassel, a former coach of the New York Giants who was named NFL coach of the year in 1997 and led the team to the 2001 Super Bowl, has died. He was 71.

Fassel’s son, John, confirmed the death to the Los Angeles Times on Monday.

Fassel coached the Giants from 1997-2003, leading the team to the Super Bowl after the 2000 season. The Giants lost to the Baltimore Ravens 34-7.

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According to the Los Angeles Times, Fassel was taken to a hospital in Las Vegas where he lives with chest pains and died of a heart attack while under sedation.

The family gathered in Las Vegas following his death.

Fassel played college football before a brief career in the NFL and Canadian football. IN 1972, he was the Chicago Bears’ seventh-round selection. He was also part of the coaching staffs at Denver, Oakland, Arizona and Baltimore, as well as head coach at the University of Utah.

With the Associated Press