Jim Fassel, whose bold guarantee of a playoff bid late in the 2000 season seemingly catapulted the New York Giants to a spot in the Super Bowl, has died. He was 71.

The Giants said Tuesday that family friends informed them of his death.

Fassel, the 1997 NFL coach of the year, guided the Giants from 1997 to 2003, posting a 58-53-1 record. He was 2-3 in the postseason, including a 34-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl in February 2001.

Fassel’s 58 victories place him behind Steve Owen (153), Tom Coughlin (102) and Bill Parcells (77) among Giants coaches. Owen and Parcells are Hall of Famers, and Parcells and Coughlin each won a pair of Super Bowls.