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{{Short description|American football player and coach (1949–2021)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
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| pastcoaching =
* The Hawaiians (1974)<br />Assistant coach
* [[Fullerton
* [[Utah Utes Football|Utah]] (1976) <br/>Quarterbacks & receivers coach
* [[Weber State Wildcats football|Weber State]] (1977–1978)<br/>Quarterbacks & receivers coach
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| overall_record = '''NFL:''' {{Winning percentage|60|56|1|record=y}}<br>'''UFL:''' {{Winning percentage|18|7|record=y}}
}}
'''James Edward Fassel''' (August 31, 1949 – June 7, 2021)<ref>{{cite web |title=Jim Fassel Records, Statistics, Category |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/FassJi0.htm |website=pro-football-reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference, LLC. |access-date=3 January 2021}}</ref> was an American [[college football|college]] and professional [[American football|football]] player and coach. He was the head coach of the [[New York Giants]] of the [[National Football League]] (NFL) from [[1997 New York Giants season|1997]] to [[2003 New York Giants season|2003]]. He was offensive coordinator of other NFL teams, and as [[head coach]], [[general manager]], and president of the [[Las Vegas Locomotives]] of the [[United Football League (2009–2012)|United Football League]] (UFL).
==Playing career==
Born and raised in [[Anaheim]], Fassel graduated from [[Anaheim High School]] where as a senior quarterback, he helped to lead his team to a 12–1 record and a runner-up finish in the [[CIF Southern Section]] 4-A Division. During his senior season, he was a teammate of future [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] offensive guard [[Gerry Mullins]]. In college, Fassel played quarterback at [[Fullerton College]], [[University of Southern California|USC]], and [[California State University, Long Beach|Long Beach State]].<ref>{{cite news | url=
Fassel played briefly with [[The Hawaiians (WFL)|The Hawaiians]] of the [[World Football League|WFL]] in 1974, and became an assistant coach during the 1974 WFL season. He left the WFL after the '74 season, but briefly returned when the Hawaiians needed a quarterback late in the 1975 season. He played in the final game of the WFL for the Hawaiians, throwing the last pass in the league's history as the WFL folded three days later on October 22, 1975.
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Fassel originally coached with the Giants as an assistant in 1991 and 1992. Three weeks after the Giants won [[Super Bowl XXV]], he was hired by [[Bill Parcells]] as their quarterback coach.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/21/sports/pro-football-parcells-promotes-3-aides-and-hires-2-others.html | title=Parcells Promotes 3 Aides and Hires 2 Others | first=Frank | last=Litsky | date=February 21, 1991 | work=The New York Times | access-date=January 20, 2019}}</ref> In 1992, he was promoted to offensive coordinator.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/204652/GIANTS-PROMOTE-JIM-FASSEL-TO-OFFENSIVE-COORDINATOR.html | title=Giants Promote Jim Fassel to Offensive Coordinator | date=January 16, 1992 | work=Deseret News | access-date=January 20, 2019}}</ref>
The departure of [[Dan Reeves]] as coach after the 1996 season led to close consideration between bringing back Parcells or promoting Fassel. Young hired Fassel, narrowly avoiding a call to bring back Parcells.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Giants were seconds away from bringing Bill Parcells back in 1997 |url=https://www.giants.com/news/giants-were-seconds-away-from-bringing-bill-parcells-back-in-1997-14787303 |access-date=2024-02-01 |website=www.giants.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Fassel was hired as the head coach of the New York Giants, starting with the 1997 season, and remained in that position for seven years. He finished his Giants - and NFL - head coaching career with a won-loss record of 58–53–1.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2021-06-08 |title=Jim Fassel, former Giants head coach, dies at 71 |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31587569/former-new-york-giants-head-coach-jim-fassel-dies-71 |access-date=2024-02-01 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Exploring the legacy of former coach Jim Fassel |url=https://www.giants.com/news/exploring-the-legacy-of-former-coach-jim-fassel-14929627 |access-date=2024-02-01 |website=www.giants.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
During Fassel's
In his first year, 1997, Fassel turned around a team which had finished a cumulative 11–21 the prior two seasons, finishing 10–5–1 and being named NFL coach of the year. While with the team, he resurrected the career of quarterback [[Kerry Collins]]. In his fourth year as head coach, the 2000 season, he received acclaim for his "playoff guarantee" during which he led the Giants to an improbable NFC Championship. With the team having lost consecutive games and falling to 7–4, Fassel made a public guarantee that they would make the playoffs. The team then won their next five games to finish off the regular season, and cruised through the playoffs, defeating the heavily favored [[Minnesota Vikings]] by a blowout score of 41–0 in the NFC Championship game, before losing to the Ray Lewis-led Baltimore Ravens in [[Super Bowl XXXV]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
Fassel's legacy as head coach for the Giants is mixed, as his Giants teams were also known for their disappointments against inferior teams in the regular season, as well as in the playoffs. The most notable loss was a 39–38 loss to the [[San Francisco 49ers]] in the 2002 postseason, in which they lost a 38–14 third quarter lead. Fassel's last season with the team was the 2003 season, a year in which injuries decimated the Giants. With two games left in the season and knowing that the team was nearly certain to let him go at its conclusion, Fassel announced his resignation as head coach, effective at season's end. The team finished that year with a 4–12 record.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goldstein |first=Richard |date=2021-06-08 |title=Jim Fassel, Who Coached the Giants to the Super Bowl, Dies at 71 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/08/sports/football/jim-fassel-dead.html |access-date=2024-02-01 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
While coaching for the Giants, Fassel lived in [[Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Dave | last=Anderson | author-link=Dave Anderson (sportswriter) | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E5D7163BF931A35750C0A9679C8B63 | title=Sports of The Times: Fassel's Finished Basement | work=The New York Times | date=March 2, 2001 | access-date=November 2, 2007 | quote=Maybe that explains how the Fassels celebrated when he returned to their Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J., home on Tuesday with a four-year, $10.75 million contract — a guarantee that they will be living at the same address for at least eight years, their longest consecutive residence.}}</ref>
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In 2000, the NY Giants started off well but fell to 7–4. Under heavy criticism from the New York media and Giants' upper management, Fassel ad hoc'ed a famous speech that predicted a playoff berth that proved to be the impetus for a run at Super Bowl XXXV:
''"This is a poker game, and I'm shoving my chips to the middle of the table, I'm raising the ante, and anybody who wants to get in, get in. Anybody who wants out can get out. This team is going to the playoffs, OK? This team is going to the playoffs."''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Farmer|first=Sam|date=June 8, 2021|title=This speech made Jim Fassel a legend in New York and ended with a Giants Super Bowl|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/speech-made-jim-fassel-legend-001323489.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJ9-SOwXILpfwNRy6gG0BH5UC4bkCAa_GEQwJxVlPzP1-nG0ZDT1kTbmWqOrdLJjr7LdSuH-NYjeeQbFHwtBy67KEtxf5KQVkWdM_YszJtWp8EfuaNtdejT1nGKewMTyGcZPhnCpAebWSBTalhq-Yl3Qe2U15QRfYzHauIIo7P9L
====Involvement in 9-11 recovery====
Fassel and the Giants, on the way home from a regular season loss on the road, only learned of the [[September 11 attacks|9/11 attacks]] on the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] and [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]]
===Baltimore Ravens===
Fassel joined the Ravens as an offensive consultant in 2004 to help with development of Kyle Boller. He became the Ravens offensive coordinator in 2005. Critics of Fassel
On October 17, 2006, Fassel was fired
===Las Vegas Locomotives===
In January 2009, Fassel was named coach of the Las Vegas entrant into the [[United Football League (2009–2012)|United Football League]]. The Locos finished the regular season 4–2 and defeated the 6–0 [[Florida Tuskers]] in the [[2009 UFL Championship Game|first UFL Championship Game]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-10-23 |title=Jim Fassel Ready to Make Head Coaching Return With UFL, Not NFL - Bloomberg |website=[[Bloomberg News]] |url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aYkJkibYDEfY&refer=us |access-date=2023-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023234815/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aYkJkibYDEfY&refer=us |
Fassel returned to the Locos in 2010 and helped lead the team to repeat as champions, again defeating the Tuskers in the [[2010 UFL Championship Game]]. The Locos tried to three-peat in 2011, but this time fell to the Tuskers (who had since been relocated and renamed the [[Virginia Destroyers]]) in the [[2011 UFL Championship Game]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dailypress.com/sports/dp-xpm-20111022-2011-10-22-dp-spt-ufl-football-championship-20111021-story.html | title=Destroyers capture UFL title as hometown star Rouse shines after cousin's slaying | first=Paul | last=White | date=October 22, 2011 | work=Daily Press | location=[[Newport News, Virginia]] | access-date=January 20, 2019}}</ref> Fassel was the only current UFL head coach who was active in the league since its inauguration and was the Locos' head coach when the league suspended play in 2012.
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Fassel entered broadcasting following his firing as offensive coordinator for the Ravens, joining [[NFL on Westwood One|Westwood One]] radio as a [[color commentator]] for its Sunday NFL action. He stayed with the network for two seasons, calling Sunday afternoon games with [[Harry Kalas]] in 2007 and ''Sunday Night Football'' with [[Dave Sims]]. Fassel was also part of Westwood One's playoff coverage those two years, calling various games, and worked the 2007 and 2008 [[NFC Championship Game]]s with [[Bill Rosinski]] (2007) and [[Marv Albert]] (2008).
==Personal life
Fassel met his wife Kitty when they were 17 year old college freshmen in 1967. Fassel was at Fullerton Community College, while Kitty was a student at Cal-State Fullerton. Two years later, in April 1969, Kitty gave birth to a son, the product of an unplanned pregnancy. The young parents were both 19 years old and unmarried. They considered marrying due to the pregnancy, but did not want to make a decision under pressure. They had never considered abortion during the pregnancy. Instead, when the child was three days old, they gave him up for adoption, and subsequently lost touch with him.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Pennington |first=Bill |date=2003-05-16 |title=PRO FOOTBALL; 34 Years Later, One Coach's Sweetest Victory |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/16/sports/pro-football-34-years-later-one-coach-s-sweetest-victory.html |access-date=2024-02-01 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Fassel, Wife Meet Son 34 Years After Giving Him Up for Adoption |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2003/05/17/fassel-wife-meet-son-34-years-after-giving-him-up-for-adoption/6e961b42-f368-4e2c-af50-c243d4cd3750/ |access-date=2024-02-01 |work=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
Fassel and his wife, Kitty, divorced in 2006 after years of counseling,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/sports/football/jim-fassel-still-waiting-for-second-chance-as-an-nfl-coach.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all | title=Years Later, Still Waiting for a Second Chance | first=Sam | last=Borden | date=December 15, 2011 | work=The New York Times | access-date=January 20, 2019}}</ref> but later reconciled and remarried.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.giants.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/Exploring-the-legacy-of-former-coach-Jim-Fassel/a71346ea-7986-4688-b569-542a24f7d565 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221081104/http://www.giants.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/Exploring-the-legacy-of-former-coach-Jim-Fassel/a71346ea-7986-4688-b569-542a24f7d565 |archive-date=2015-02-21 |title=Exploring the legacy of former coach Jim Fassel}}</ref> They are the parents of [[John Fassel]], currently the special teams coordinator for the [[Dallas Cowboys]]. They had four other children. One was placed for adoption before they were married; they were reunited with him in 2003.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/16/sports/pro-football-34-years-later-one-coach-s-sweetest-victory.html | title=PRO FOOTBALL: 34 Years Later, One Coach's Sweetest Victory | first=Bill | last=Pennington | date=May 16, 2003 | work=The New York Times | access-date=January 20, 2019}}</ref>▼
Two years later, in 1971, Jim and Kitty married.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" />
In 2003, after years of searching, the Fassels found the child whom they had placed for adoption. They had a family reunion, which included the Fassels and their other four adult children, together with their now 34-year-old adopted son, John Mathieson, who brought along his own wife and their four young daughters.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Times |first=BILL PENNINGTON The New York |title=N.Y. Giants Coach Jim Fassel and His Wife, Kitty, Reunite With Son They Gave Up 34 Years Ago |url=https://www.theledger.com/story/news/2003/05/26/ny-giants-coach-jim-fassel-and-his-wife-kitty-reunite-with-son-they-gave-up-34-years-ago/26052833007/ |access-date=2024-02-01 |website=The Ledger |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2" />
▲
Fassel was good friends with fellow coach [[Mike Holmgren]], dating to their days as USC quarterbacks.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/22/sports/pro-football-giants-notebook-fassel-and-holmgren-remember-the-good-ol-days.html | title=PRO FOOTBALL – GIANTS NOTEBOOK: Fassel and Holmgren Remember the Good Ol' Days | first=Bill | last=Pennington | date=December 22, 2001 | work=The New York Times | access-date=January 20, 2019}}</ref>
==Death==
Fassel died at age 71 of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] on June 7, 2021, in [[Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]].<ref name=lnsobt>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-06-07/longtime-nfl-coach-jim-fassell-dies-at-71 |work=Los Angeles Times |location=(California) |agency=UPI |title=Jim Fassel, longtime NFL coach, dies at 71 |date=June 7, 2021 |page=25}}</ref>▼
▲Jim Fassel died
==Head coaching record==
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}}
===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Regular Season !! colspan="4"|Post Season
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||4||12||0||.250||4th in NFC East|| – || – || – || –
|-
! colspan="2"|
===UFL===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Regular Season !! colspan="4"|Post Season
|-
!Won!!Lost!!Ties!!Win %!!Finish!! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Result
|-! style="background:#fdd;"
|-! style="background:#90EE90;"
![[Las Vegas Locomotives|LVL]]||[[2009 UFL season|2009]]
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||4||0||0||1.000||'''1st in UFL'''|| – || – || – || –
|-
! colspan="2"|
▲|-
|}
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==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{commonscatinline}}
{{Utah Utes football coach navbox}}
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[[Category:Arizona Cardinals coaches]]
[[Category:Baltimore Ravens coaches]]
[[Category:Chicago Bears players]]
[[Category:Denver Broncos coaches]]
[[Category:Fullerton Hornets football players]]
[[Category:Long Beach State 49ers football players]]
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[[Category:The Hawaiians coaches]]
[[Category:United Football League (2009–2012) head coaches]]
[[Category:
▲[[Category:Junior college football coaches in the United States]]
[[Category:People from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Bergen County, New Jersey]]
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