Dave Edwards, a linebacker who helped lead the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowls and was part of the so-called Doomsday Defense in a 13-year career with the team, died on Monday at his home in Lake Whitney, Tex., about 80 miles southwest of Dallas. He was 76.

His death was confirmed by his brother, Timothy. Dave Edwards had been scheduled to have surgery on Thursday for a heart arrhythmia that was recently discovered, his brother said.

Edwards played for the Cowboys from 1963 through the 1975 season. Known for his speed and aggressiveness, he was considered a key component of the team’s defense and was frequently listed among the linebackers with the most interceptions, according to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, which inducted him in 1998.

During his years with the Cowboys, the team won Super Bowl VI in 1972, in which Dallas beat Miami, 24-3, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. He played in two other Super Bowls — in 1971, when Dallas lost to the Baltimore Colts, 16-13, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, and in 1976, when the Cowboys were defeated by the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-17, again at the Orange Bowl.