Thank You John Madden

By: Greg Rector

John Madden passed away tonight at the age of 85. The football world is mourning his passing. Madden for anyone my age was first a coaching legend, then he became the most beloved football commentator as a broadcaster with Pat Summerall and then Al Michaels for decades. For those who are younger, Madden may only be known as the guy from the video game. He was so much more than that. John Madden lived and breathed football. Even as a kid watching games on TV you could just see how much Madden loved football. He was a big, burly guy who would wear short sleeves and his ties that always looked out of place. The old expression “They don’t make them like that anymore,” definitely applies to John Madden.

COACHING CAREER

Madden went to high school with another future coaching legend, former Rams and USC head coach John Robinson. He earned his Bachelor of  Science degree in education. That’s right John Madden was a teacher. He was a good enough player to have been drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1958, however, he had suffered numerous knee injuries which ended his hopes as a player. One door closes and another opens as they say and for Madden, this was also true.

Madden recounted how he became involved with coaching:

“I got hurt in my rookie year with the Philadelphia Eagles — a knee injury — and I couldn’t play. While I was rehabbing, Norm Van Brocklin, would be watching films and would explain what was happening. I ended up with a degree in teaching and my love for football meshed with teaching.”

So began a new career first at Allan Hancock College as an assistant in 1960 then head coach in 1962 and 1963.  He moved on to San Diego State, where he would coach with another legend, Don Coryell. It was because the 1966 Aztecs were such a good small college program that madden came to the attention of Raiders owner Al Davis. Now most would figure Madden was an offensive line coach, guessed wrong folks, he was a linebackers coach for the Raiders in 1967, and after head coach Jon Rauch resigned to take the same job with Buffalo, Madden became the youngest AFL head coach at just 32 years-old. The Raiders were the AFL version of the Cowboy’s in the 1960s, always close but never quite reaching the pinnacle. In seven years the Raiders reached five AFL/AFC championship games and never came out victorious. While Dallas shed the image of also-rans Madden’s Raiders felt heartache year after usually at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers, including the infamous “Immaculate Reception, a game in the 1972 playoffs. That would all change in the 1976 season. The Raiders finally made it to a Super Bowl after a 13-1 season, including beating the Steelers 24- 7 in the AFC Championship game. They defeated the Minnesota Vikings soundly 32-14 to get the elusive Lombardi trophy. Madden continued coaching until being one of the first people to acknowledge an unknown term at that time “burnout,’ after the 1978 season. In ten seasons he never had a losing record, Madden, still owns the 2nd best winning percentage for a coach in NFL history.  103 wins 32 losses and 7 ties for a .763 winning percentage. His Raiders were always competitive, the mystique of the “Silver and Black,” wasn’t just from their owner Al Davis, it had plenty to do with John Madden. His players absolutely loved him. Madden was in fact one of the greatest masters of psychology in the sport. If you don’t know the names from back then, you feared Ben Davidson, Ted “The Mad Stork,” Hendricks, Jack “The Assasin,” Tatum. The legendary Kenny “The Snake,” Stabler at quarterback. Madden coached them all while allowing the outside world, the media, and opponents to be in fear of his Raiders. Don’t forget he did this while matching coaching wits with the Chuck Noll’s, Don Shula’s, Bud Grant’s, and Tom Landry’s as adversaries. The growth of the NFL in that era especially on TV happened at that time.

BROADCASTING

In 1979 Madden started doing color commentary and in 1981 was elevated to the top of the CBS food chain with Pat Summerall. Together they would call 5 Super Bowl games on CBS. Back then CBS also aired the U.S. Open tennis tournament and Summerall would be substituted by Verne Lundquist or the legendary Vin Scully. The best NFC games until 1994 though would feature Madden. If you were a fan you definitely tuned in to listen to his insights. There was nothing like hearing Madden go “BOOM,” when he would describe a big hit. His ability to break down the complexities of the game for the average viewer though was what made Madden so good as a color analyst. He was self-effacing, could make fun of himself but never failed to educate and entertain.

In 1994 the sports broadcast landscape changed with the emergence of the FOX Network. FOX gained the rights to the NFC games and they signed the duo of Summerall and Madden. Three more Super Bowls for the pair while at FOX and an even larger following. Madden’s contract paid him more than any NFL player at that time, such was his popularity. GE owned NBC back then and still had the AFC games. GE offered to build Madden his own luxury train and be the “world-wide,” spokesperson for GE. How’s that for popularity?

Madden changed how the games were broadcast. It was his former high school teammate John Robinson who in 1984 suggested John create his “All Madden,” team. Players who might not be on an all-pro or Pro Bowl roster were elevated by Madden, because he loved their style of play. You better believe many a player enjoyed benefits from making the “All Madden,” teams. In 1994 he named his “All Madden, ; team for the first ten years, created an “All Madden,” Super Bowl team in 1997, and in 2000 his “All Time Madden Team,: going back to the earliest history of the game.

In 2002 Madden made the move to Monday Night football and began his association with Al Michaels as the play by play announcer. The pair moved to NBC when “Sunday Night Football,” started in 2006. In 2009 he became the first to have called a Super Bowl on all four of the football networks. His other most legendary contribution of course was on Thanksgiving Day games for his introduction of the Turducken, a Turkey stuffed with a duck, and in turn the duck was stuffed by a chicken.

THE MADDEN BUS

For years Madden had an aversion to flying. He had lost friends from Cal Poly State’s football team aboard a plane that crashed in 1960. In 1979 he apparently had a panic attack, it wasn’t so much a fear of flying, or turbulence that affected Madden, but claustrophobia. He also grew to dislike not being able to see things, at first he became a frequent AMTRAK passenger until in 1987 Greyhound and Madden reached an agreement and the Madden Bus was born. Afer three years he switched to the even more famous “Madden Express,” buses made by Motor Coach Industries.

EA SPORTS MADDEN FOOTBALL

In 1988 Madden lent his voice, personality, and most importantly his name to the EA Sports football video games. His view back then wasn’t so much about the monetary rewards, Madden saw the platform as a teaching tol, a way to bring more people to the sport he loved. It certainly worked as even now there is no other football video game that comes close to the Madden platform. He ceratinly didn’t envision today’s landscape where there are TV shows of the best gamers playing Madden.

LEGACY

Madden transcended the sport of football. He has become synonymous with the game of football in so many ways outside of his storied coaching career. When you are still relevant 43 years after coaching your last game and your name and likeness are known globally, I think you get to be called a “Legend.” The thing that stands out most of all though was Madden’s humanity. He loved people and he loved the game of football. You don’t hear horror stories of encounters with Madden. He simply lived a good and full life. His contributions to the game have been honored many times, it’s his generosity and spirit that should be remembered just as much as his coaching or broadcasting. If you never saw him coach, you missed a genius at work. If you didn’t know him as a broadcaster, you missed out on being educated and entertained. Hopefully you watched the Madden documentary on Christmas Day, it was tremendous.  Godspeed John Earl Madden (April 10th, 1936- December 28th, 2021) and thank you for enriching the lives of so many with your passion and love for football, and love of life. Rest in Peace and Thank you for all the insights, the laughter, and enjoyment.