Tag Archives: New York Giants

NFL

Reeves, Dan (1944-2022)

Cards: ProSet 1989, ProSet 1990, ProSet 1992
Acquired: TTM 2017, C/o Home
Sent: 12/9    Received: 12/19   (10 days)

Dan Reeves has had a long and successful NFL career as both a coach and a player. The soft spoken quarterback went undrafted out of South Carolina in 1965. While with the Gamecocks, Reeves posted 2561 yards passing along with 16 touchdowns to 20 interceptions. He also rushed for 815 yards on 359 carries. The Cowboys liked Dan’s versatility enough that they signed him and converted him to runningback. He’d play with the Cowboys for 7 seasons from 1965-1972. His best season came in 1966 when Dan led the NFL with 16 total touchdowns. He also had a career high 175 carries for 757 yards, and 41 receptions for 557 yards. After a pretty solid followup season in 1967 (603 yards on 173 carries, 39 receptions for 490 yards, and 11 total touchdowns) Dan would see his playing time decrease thanks in part to a lingering knee injury.

In 1972 Reeves joined Tom Landry‘s staff as an assistant coach. A coveted member of the Dallas staff, Dan attracted the attention of the Denver Broncos who hired him as their head coach in 1981. At the time the move made waves as Reeves was the youngest coach in league history.  He was given sweeping powers at the time and made shrewd moves that changed the landscape of the NFL. Reeves brought winning ways back to Denver during his 12 years coaching for the Broncos. He identified numerous talent and fostered his own coaching tree. He engineered the trade that brought John Elway to Denver, and the Broncos made 3 Super Bowl appearances under his watch.  After a tumultuous 1992, Dan would be fired but quickly found a home with the New York Giants in 1993.

Reeves brought many of his former Denver castoffs to New York and rebuilt the franchise from the ashes of the Ray Handley debacle. He earned Coach of the Year honors for leading the Giants to an 11-5 record.  Dan coached with the Giants through the 1996 season.

Dan again found a new coaching job with the Atlanta Falcons. After a 7-9 campaign in 1997, he’d lead the team to new heights with a 14-2 record, with the Falcons making their first Super Bowl appearance in 1998, and Reeves again earning Coach of the Year Honors. He’d resign from the Falcons job in 2003, but his name came up constantly over the next 5-7 years for various vacancies.

In 2005 Reeves acted as a consultant for the Houston Texans. With the team showing poorly, Dan sat in the owners booth with owner Bob McNair to provide feedback on the coaching and overall organization. After the season concluded with a 2-14 mark, the franchise cleared house. While I would’ve been happy with Reeves coming in as head coach, the franchise opted for Gary Kubiak instead and hired General Manager Rick Smith. This laid the foundation for the Texans to get to a level of respectability in the NFL.

Since that time, Reeves has toyed with the idea of returning to the NFL, acting as a consultant briefly with Georgia State, flirting with the Cowboys as a consultant, and interviewing for the 49ers OC job in 2010.  He briefly dabbled in broadcasting and is very personable with his fans.

I never really considered getting Dan’s autograph until I came across his ProSet 1992 issue. It’s a great and poignant photo showcasing what a classy guy Dan is.

G/GS 100/39    RUSH 535     YDS 1990     AVG 3.7       TD 25    LG 67
REC 129     YDS 1693       AVG 13.1       TD 17      LG 60

W  190      L 165     T 2     PCT .535

UPDATE

1/1/2022- Dan Reeves passed away early in the morning on New Years, surrounded by friends and family at the age of 77 due to complications from a long illness.

NFL

Parcells, Bill ‘Big Tuna’

 


pset90 SBXXV BCards: ProSet 1990 Super Bowl Card, Action Packed 1991 All Madden Team
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o Home
Sent: 11/12    Received: 12/3   (18 days)

Bill Parcells is one of the more memorable coaches in NFL history. Not only was he an excellent orchestrator of coaches and evaluator of talent, he was quite the personality during press conferences.

Bill Parcells was actually selected in the 7th Round of the 1964 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, but he was cut before he played a single game, so he almost immediately hopped into coaching (at Hastings) after graduating from Wichita State. He coached linebackers at Hastings, Wichita State and then later at Army before being promoted to defensive coordinator at Army in 1968. In 1970 he returned to coaching linebackers with Florida State, and the later Vanderbilt and Texas Tech, before taking his first head coaching job with Air Force in 1978.

Parcells briefly took a job as the defensive coordinator for the Giants under Ray Perkins in ’79- but quit the job.  He returned to coaching the following year as linebacker coach for the Patriots in 1980. It wasn’t that long thereafter before he returned to the Giants as their defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 1981.  He converted the defensive alignment to a 3-4 and succeeded Ray Perkins as HC in 1983. After a bumpy start and being on the hot seat, Parcells righted the ship and led the Giants back to the playoffs. In 1986 the Giants won their first Superbowl (XXI), as New York posted their best franchise record (14-2) led by their stellar defense and Phil Simms. The NFC East at the time was the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, the Cardinals, and the Washington Redskins. While the Cowboys were in a steep decline and the Cardinals were rarely a threat, the Giants had a rough and tumble time with both the Redskins and Eagles. It took another 4 years, but in 1990 the Giants returned to the Super Bowl (XXV) in a game considered to be one of the most exciting in NFL history. The Giants defeated the Buffalo Bills 20-19 led by stellar defensive play and a plodding offense that soaked up the clock led by grizzled veteran RB Ottis Anderson. Parcells retired after the game, citing health reasons.

Briefly Bill did sportscasting with NBC from 1991-1992, but was chomping at the bit to return to the game. In this phase of his coaching career, Parcells became known as a rags to riches coach. He came in and immediately turned around the fortunes of the franchises he coached. It can be attributed to Parcells for fixing the Patriots, restoring the franchise to respectability, and beginning the dynasty that has lasted into today. He coached for the Patriots from 1993 to 1996, with the team appearing in Super Bowl XXI- a loss to the Green Bay Packers. The following season Bill joined the New York Jets thanks in part to disagreements with the Patriots owner Robert Kraft over front office decisions. The Jets had to pay the Patriots a king’s ransom in draft picks to get him in the end, but Bill proved to be worth the price, turning around the moribund Jets. (In 1998 the Jets finished with a 12-4 record but lost in the AFC Championship.) He retired again from coaching in 1999.

Jerry Jones was desperate to fix the Dallas Cowboys who were beginning to become the laughing stock of the NFC East. Three consecutive 5-11 seasons were enough for Jones to approach Parcells hat in hand to lure him out of retirement. Bill’s price for Jones was steep: Head coach and general manager and no interference from Jones. The year was 2003. As with his previous stops, Bill had the magic touch leading the Cowboys to the playoffs, but over the next few years, he just couldn’t get Dallas over the hump. Before the 2007 season, Bill retired for the 3rd time.

He briefly did studio analysis for ESPN, but was lured out of retirement for a 4th time by the Miami Dolphins into an executive role at the end of 2007. As in the past, Bill fixed the Dolphins, cutting fan favorites, signing stacks of cheap free agents, firing coaches, bringing back into the fold mercurial RB Ricky Williams, and Miami responded with an 11-5 record. He retired, presumably for a final time in 2010.

Bill has an extensive coaching tree, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.  He lives in Florida and does some volunteer consulting from time to time. Currently he is retired… or is he mulling another comeback?

W 183      L   138     T 1       PCT .570

NFL

Barrow, Micheal

Cards: ProSet 1993, GameDay 1993
Acquired: TTM 2016, C/o Home
Sent: 5/24/16             Received: 10/2/17  (420 days)
Failure: 2010, C/o University of Miami

Micheal Barrow played for the Miami Hurricanes in college.  A fearsome and instinctive linebacker, Micheal posted 420 combined tackles, 7 sacks, and 3 interceptions for 5 years, earning first-team All-America Honors in 1992.

New defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan wanted some new blood and speed at the linebacker position in Houston.  He made smarmy remarks about incumbent MLB Al Smith being too big and slow after watching film of the previous season.  Micheal was actually a surprise selection by the Oilers in the 2nd round of the 1993 NFL Draft. The team was bursting at talent at linebacker with Joe Bowden, Lamar Lathon, Eddie Robinson, Smith, and free agent signee Wilber Marshall.

During his rookie year he’d hone his skills behind Al Smith at middle linebacker- who had no intention of giving up his spot. The Oilers acknowledged as much and moved Barrow to RLB in 1994. He’d play for the Oilers through the 1996 season.  Micheal’s most complete season in Houston occurred that year as he posted 67 tackles, 6 sacks, and 4 forced fumbles.

Micheal signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Carolina Panthers in 1997.  He picked up right where he left off in Houston recording 68 tackles, 8.5 sacks (career high), and 3 forced fumbles. After solid play through the 1999 season, Micheal signed with the New York Giants as a free agent.

Among the pantheon of free agent signings in the history of the franchise, Barrow’s signing wasn’t met with much fanfare, however he’d go down as one of Big Blue’s most savvy moves. Plugging Barrow in at middle linebacker, Micheal played 5 strong seasons in NY. His best season for the franchise came in 2003 when he posted a career high 109 tackles.  After a knee injury ended his one and done season with the Redskins before it even began, Barrow played 2 games in 2005 with the Dallas Cowboys before retiring.

Micheal quickly went into coaching scaling the high school ranks and landing at his Alma Mater Miami where he was linebackers coach for the Hurricanes from 2007-2013.  In 2015, Micheal joined Pete Carroll’s staff in Seattle as the team’s linebacker’s coach, and in 2017 was promoted to assistant head coach to keep potential suitors away.

Finally, another mythic Houston Oiler down. I had tried Barrow way back in 2010 via the Hurricanes, but failed miserably.  This request too, I had given up hope on, but after a very long wait, Micheal signed these two cards for me via the Seahawks.

G/GS  172/153      TAC  1125     SAC 43.0      FUM  22
INT 2       YDS 17        AVG  8.5     TD  0       LG  10