broadcasts in 1967 for CBS. Atlanta Falcons In 1968, Van Brocklin took over as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons on October 1, replacing Norb Hecker, who had started the season with three defeats, extending the team losing streak to ten games. Over the next seven seasons, Van Brocklin had mixed results, putting together a 37-49-3 mark. He led the team to its first winning season in 1971 with a 7-6-1 record, then challenged for a playoff spot in 1973 with a 9–5 mark. His 1973 Falcons handed the Fran Tarkenton-led, 9-0 Minnesota Vikings its first defeat, on Monday Night Football. However, after winning just two of his first eight games in 1974, he was fired. Head coaching record Final years Following his dismissal, Van Brocklin returned to his pecan farm in Social Circle, Georgia, east of Atlanta. His only connections to football during this era were as a running backs coach for Georgia Tech under head coach Pepper Rodgers in 1979, who was fired that December. It was his only stint as an assistant coach. Rodgers's successor Bill Curry brought in a new staff in 1980 and Van Brocklin then was a college football analyst on "Superstation" WTBS in Atlanta. Van Brocklin, a heavy cigarette smoker, suffered a number of illnesses, including a brain tumor. After it was removed, he told the press, "It was a brain transplant. They gave me a sportswriter's brain, to make sure I got one that hadn't been used." He died of a heart attack in 1983 at age 57, five weeks after former teammate Bob Waterfield. Van Brocklin was posthumously elected to the University of Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992. NFL career statistics NFL records 1st NFL player to throw over 500 yards : (554) September 28, 1951 Most yards passed in a single game : 554 See also List of 500-yard passing games in the National Football League References External links 1926 births 1983 deaths American football punters American football quarterbacks American people of Dutch descent Atlanta Falcons coaches Atlanta Falcons head coaches College Football Hall of Fame inductees Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football coaches Los Angeles Rams players Minnesota Vikings coaches National Football League announcers National Football League general managers National Football League Most Valuable Player Award winners New Orleans Saints announcers Oregon Ducks football players People from Dewey County, South Dakota Philadelphia Eagles