As a player, he spent his eight-season career with the Dallas Cowboys, who signed him as an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina in 1965.

He began his coaching career in 1972 as an assistant for Cowboys, where he made three championship appearances and was part of the staff that won Super Bowl XII.

His most successful season with the Falcons was in 1998, when he led the franchise to their championship debut in Super Bowl XXXIII, in which he was defeated by his former team, the Broncos.

Reeves and Marty Schottenheimer are the only eligible NFL head coaches with 200 career wins that have not been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

[2] After Reeves missed four games with a broken collarbone during his senior season, only the University of South Carolina was interested enough to offer him a football scholarship.

Reeves signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 1965 to play safety, but was later moved to halfback when a series of injuries depleted the team's depth during training camp.

[10] In 1966, Tom Landry, looking for more speed at running back, shifted All-Pro safety Mel Renfro to offense.

[11] His performance helped the Cowboys take some of the running load from fullback Don Perkins and reach their first championship game.

Head coach Tom Landry started playing him in spots and asked him to become a player-coach, while being passed on the depth chart by Calvin Hill and Duane Thomas.

Reeves remained in that role for three years, until he retired as an active player to become a full-time assistant coach on February 22, 1972.

He threw a touchdown pass in the Cowboys' losing effort in the legendary subzero Ice Bowl against the Green Bay Packers for the 1967 NFL title.

"[23][24] Reeves was fired after the 1992 season[25] and replaced by his protégé and friend Wade Phillips, who was previously the Broncos' defensive coordinator.

[23] Reeves coached the Falcons to a 12–2 record before being hospitalized for the final two regular season games to undergo quadruple-bypass heart surgery in December.

Reeves managed to return to the sidelines just three weeks later to lead the Falcons to victory against the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game.

During Super Bowl XXXIII, Reeves's Falcons were pitched against his former team, the defending champion Denver Broncos whose quarterback Elway was in his final season that had Shanahan as head coach.

In the days following, it was revealed that the dispute came down to a contract clause specifying a number of hours per week to be worked, which Reeves deemed insulting.