Former head coach of the New York Giants, Jim Fassel joined the Giants as a first-time NFL head coach on Jan. 15, 1997. Since then, he became one of the most successful, respected and longest-tenured coaches in the league and in the long history of the Giants. Fassel led the Giants to two NFC East championships, a conference title and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXV and a Wild card playoff berth, as well as a regular season record of 54-41-1. The Giants coach continually distinguished himself among his peers. Fifteen of the NFL's active head coaches at the time of his departure in 2004 have coached at least 80 games. Fassel is the only one of those 15 coaches that has never had a four-game losing streak. In addition, of those 15 coaches that have been at the helm for at least five full NFL seasons, only four - Fassel, Jeff Fisher, Jon Gruden and Marty Schottenheimer - have never had a double-digit loss season. In addition to the mark he made in the NFL, Fassel has established himself as one of the finest coaches in the 79-year history of the Giants. With 54 regular season victories, Fassel is the fourth-winningest coach in Giants history, trailing only Steve Owen (153), Bill Parcells (77) and Allie Sherman (57). With a 2-3 record in the playoffs, Fassel joins Owen, Parcells and Jim Lee Howell as the only Giants coaches to win more than one postseason game. After this historic stint with the Giants, Fassel moved to the Baltimore Ravens, where he served as a Special Consultant to the organization before becoming a full-time Assistant Coach in 2005. The 1997 season marked Fassel's return to the Giants organization. He entered the NFL in 1991 as the Giants' quarterbacks coach. The following year, he was promoted to offensive coordinator. Following his service with the Giants, Fassel spent two campaigns as assistant head coach/offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos in 1993 and 1994. He spent the 1995 season as quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders and was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Arizona Cardinals in 1996. Before joining the Giants as head coach, Fassel built a reputation for an ability to develop quarterbacks. Under Fassel's guidance, Broncos quarterback John Elway enjoyed his finest season as a pro in 1993, earning honors that included the AFC Player-of-the-Year and Most Valuable Player. Elway led the AFC in all six major passing categories. The Broncos offense ranked third in the AFC and fifth in the NFL and scored 373 points to rank first in the conference and third in the league. In 1996 with the Cardinals, Fassel tutored Kent Graham into a solid player and helped rejuvenate veteran Boomer Esiason. The Cardinals finished sixth in passing offense in 1996. A former quarterback at Fullerton College, Fassel began coaching in 1973 at his alma mater, then was a player-coach for the Hawaii Hawaiians of the World Football League in 1974. He coached quarterbacks and receivers at Utah in 1976, then served seven seasons as offensive coordinator at both Weber State (1977-78) and Stanford (1979-83). At Stanford, Fassel was credited with recruiting and coaching Elway, who finished second in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy as a senior in 1982. It was also at Stanford that Fassel's offensive system began to take shape. Fassel adapted his offense from Stanford head coach Bill Walsh, who would later lead San Francisco to three Super Bowl titles.