One of the legends of the NFL, Chuck Fairbanks dies of cancer at the age of 79-years-old. He passed away Tuesday, succumbing to brain cancer, according to the team.

Fairbanks led the Patriots from 1973-78, bringing the franchise to some its greatest success by the end of his tenure as coach, including two playoffs berths. Prior to his arrival, The Patriots were 3-11. It went to 11-3, 9-5 and 11-5 during his final three seasons.

Fairbanks’ legacy as a Patriot’s coach has been widely discussed, in many ways because of how his time with the franchise has ceased. Fairbanks ultimately became the head coach for an opposing team, Colorado, in 1978. Many agree, however, that the foundation created by Fairbanks was key to the team’s success. An important part of his strategy had been to draft top-notch players. During his time, they included offensive lineman John Hannah, linebacker Steve Nelson, tight end Russ Francis and cornerback Mike Haynes, among others.

Incumbent Patriots’ coach Bill Bellichick acknowledged Fairbanks’ across-the-board influence last September.

According to Bellichick, "Chuck has been a good friend for a long time and he's meant a lot to this organization. At the time he came here, he did a great job turning the Patriots around and making them into one of the top teams in the AFC.”

Bellichick, at the same press conference, also discussed some of the football-specific areas in which Fairbanks had a big impact in the 1970s.

"They were things that stood the test of time and have been a big principle of this league for many, many years, [with] the disciples and people with him -- 3-4 defense, the way he organized the draft, personnel meetings," Bellichick said.

Before the Patriots,’ Fairbanks also coached the Oklahoma Sooners from 1967-72. He famously gave offensive coordinator Barry Switzer the nod in 1970 to implement the wishbone offense, a move that made Oklahoma into a defensive powerhouse for the next 20 years.

He came to Oklahoma as part of Jim Mackenzies’ staff in 1966, and became head coach after Mackenzie died suddenly from a heart attack a year later.

The Sooners went 10-1 and defeated Tennessee in the Orange Bowl during Fairbanks’ first year. However, the program has sputtered in the 1960s, bumper stickers with the label “Chuck Chuck” was popping all over the state. After another slow start in 1970, Switzer convinced Fairbanks to do the wishbone offense, which Texas had prominently devised and invented with great success. The Longhorns decimated Oklahoma’s new offense the following week. But the wishbone slowly took shape, and it would be seven years before the Sooners would lose a game to Texas again.