LEGEND LOST

Legendary NFL Boss Dies at 84

The football executive was a major force behind a two-time Super Bowl champion team.

Ernie Accorsi, the veteran NFL executive who helped build the New York Giants team that accomplished one of the greatest comebacks in Super Bowl history, has died at 84. The Giants announced that Accorsi died on Saturday surrounded by loved ones, according to ESPN. Accorsi served in various front-office roles over four decades with the NFL, including as general manager of three teams. He started as general manager of the then-Baltimore Colts from 1982 to 1983, then for the Cleveland Browns from 1985 to 1992. Accorsi then became the Giants’ general manager in 1998, where he set up the framework for a team that would go on to win two Super Bowls. In 2004, Accorsi hired head coach Tom Coughlin and pulled off a draft-day trade for quarterback Eli Manning. Accorsi also drafted other franchise icons, including Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, and Brandon Jacobs, before retiring in 2006—two years before the team he helped assemble won its first of two Super Bowls. “Ernie helped shape the course of New York Giants history through his vision, leadership, and unwavering belief in building a championship organization,” Giants owner John Mara said in a statement. “His legacy will forever be part of the Giants, and he will be greatly missed.”