EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Kevin Gilbride’s mustache, a legendary lip adornment that won two Super Bowl championships and was respected as one of the most enduring examples of responsible facial hair in sports, died last month in a shaving accident at the Giants’ practice facility here. It was believed to be about 41.

Gilbride, the offensive coordinator of the Giants since 2007 and a football coach since 1974, confirmed the death in an interview Thursday by pointing to his face. The cause was an inadvertent cutting of half the mustache when Gilbride, 61, was momentarily distracted by something a fellow coach said as he was performing some routine trimming in the days leading up to the Giants’ Aug. 24 preseason game with Chicago.

Left with part of his lip clean and part of it covered, Gilbride said, there was no option but euthanize the rest of the mustache.

“It was difficult,” Gilbride said. “But at that point, I had no choice.”

Not surprisingly, the mustache’s sudden demise prompted emotional responses. Gilbride’s mustache had a storied career, at one point being the target of an infamous punch from Buddy Ryan on the sideline in 1994, but more recently featuring prominently as the Giants won N.F.L. titles during the 2007 and 2011 seasons.