John Madden, One of Few Who Were Both Tops in their Fields as well as their Humanity

One of a handful of almost ‘ heaven sent’ in our lifetime, the o t hers perhaps Robin WILLIAMS, Rush Limbaugh, Roy Orbison,
Buddy Holly and Ronald Reagan and there may be a few more but not many who were not only tops in their field but in their humanity. Interestingly, most of the figures didn’t live out ‘ normal ‘ lives , either dying prematurely or in an unexpected manner.

Only their humanity was as pronounced as their talent and accomplishment

When
Madden felt he had done everything on the field he ‘retired ‘early only to take up a new challenge, broadcasting, where he, again, excelled above his colleagues.

But what makes Madden special and almost ‘heaven sent’ is his humanity. There seemingly wasn’t a player who played for him who did nt love Madden

Ex-Raiders coach John Madden, NFL Hall of Famer and broadcasting legend, dies at 85

Edited from Matt Kawahara S.F Gate

John Madden, the gregarious Hall of Fame coach who led the Raiders to their first Super Bowl title and later became a defining TV analyst and football icon, died Tuesday. He was 85.
“On behalf of the entire NFL family, we extend our condolences to Virginia, Mike, Joe and their families,” Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a statement released by the NFL. “We all know him as the Hall of Fame coach of the Oakland Raiders and broadcaster who worked for every major network, but more than anything, he was a devoted husband, father and grandfather.”

In a statement, the Raiders shared that, “The Raiders Family is deeply saddened by the passing of the legendary John Madden. Few individuals meant as much to the growth and popularity of professional football as Coach Madden, whose impact on the game both on and off the field was immeasurable.”

Added Goodell in his statement: “Nobody loved football more than Coach. He was football. He was an incredible sounding board to me and so many others. There will never be another John Madden, and we will forever be indebted to him for all he did to make football and the NFL what it is today.”
According to the statement, memorial service details “will be announced when available.”
Hired by Davis as a linebackers coach in 1967, Madden helped the Raiders reach what would become known as Super Bowl II, where they lost to Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers. After the 1968 season, John Rauch left Oakland for Buffalo, leaving a vacancy at head coach.
Davis chose to make Madden the youngest head coach in the league — younger than some of his players. That dynamic, combined with Madden’s passionate coaching style and how he treated players, endeared him to members of the Raiders’ roster.
“It was like playing for your big brother,” former quarterback Ken Stabler told The Chronicle in 2006. “I think his age helped a lot — that and the fact he had so much confidence in us. He let us be the people we wanted to be off the field, and he let us be the players we wanted to be on the field.”

Said former Raiders linebacker Phil Villapiano: “He loved outrageousness and he appreciated it when you worked your ass off. It was the job you always wanted, because you just had to do the job. No BS. No politics. No backstabbing. That’s why I loved playing for him. He just let me play football.”
Madden could bark at players and gesticulate and yell on the sidelines. But he also allowed his players latitude at a time when many successful coaches were more straightlaced. Madden’s three rules, he later said, were simple: Be on time, pay attention, play hard when instructed. And his teams helped cultivate the Raiders’ image of swaggering toughness.
“When you have a good team, as we did, a good coach gives the players a little freedom,” said the late Willie Brown, a former Raiders cornerback. “John liked for us to be in before curfew, but he also knew certain players would probably be out after curfew. He didn’t want to know about it; he’d say, ‘Just don’t tell me.’”
While some wondered about the dynamic between Madden and Davis, who was demanding of his coaches, Madden maintained afterward the two worked well together. “Anything that I ever wanted that had to do with football, he supported me,” Madden told NFL Films in 2017. “It was a perfect situation, it was a perfect thing for me.”
Madden’s first Raiders team finished 12-1-1 but lost to the Chiefs in the AFL title game. It was the start of a frustrating trend: In Madden’s first seven seasons, the Raiders reached the conference title game five times and lost. They also lost in the divisional round of the 1972 playoffs to the Pittsburgh Steelers on one of the most memorable plays in NFL history.

John Madden

1 of a handful of almost heaven sent’ in our lifetime, the o t hers perhaps Robin WILLIAMS, Rush Limbaugh, Roy Orbison,
John Madden. Buddy Holly, Ronald Reagan and there may be a few more but not many who were not only tops in their field but in their humanity

Only t heir humanity was as pronounced as their talent and accomplishment

When
Madden felt he had done everything on the field he ‘retired early to take up a new challenge, broadcasting, where he, again, excelled
Above all others
But what makes Madden special and almost ‘heaven sent’ is his humanity. There seemingly wasn’t a player who played for him who did nt love Madden

Ex-Raiders coach John Madden, NFL Hall of Famer and broadcasting legend, dies at 85

Matt Kawahara

John Madden, the gregarious Hall of Fame coach who led the Raiders to their first Super Bowl title and later became a defining TV analyst and football icon, died Tuesday. He was 85.
“On behalf of the entire NFL family, we extend our condolences to Virginia, Mike, Joe and their families,” Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a statement released by the NFL. “We all know him as the Hall of Fame coach of the Oakland Raiders and broadcaster who worked for every major network, but more than anything, he was a devoted husband, father and grandfather.”

In a statement, the Raiders shared that, “The Raiders Family is deeply saddened by the passing of the legendary John Madden. Few individuals meant as much to the growth and popularity of professional football as Coach Madden, whose impact on the game both on and off the field was immeasurable.”

Just 32 when he became the Raiders’ head coach, Madden, who quickly became known for his sideline outbursts and unruly hair, led his team to the playoffs eight times in 10 seasons and compiled a .759 winning percentage (103-32-7) that still ranks as the highest of any coach with at least 100 victories.
Madden’s knowledge of X’s and O’s and unpretentious enthusiasm later informed his transition to the broadcasting booth, where he won 16 Emmy awards and revolutionized the craft with his use of the telestrator and array of comic-book exclamations.
Madden, whose family moved to Daly City from Minnesota when he was a child, was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. Former Raiders owner Al Davis was the presenter at his induction.
“He loved the game. He loved his team. He loved the Raiders. He loved this league,” Davis said in his speech. “He loved the AFL and the NFL, and especially his players.”


Added Goodell in his statement: “Nobody loved football more than Coach. He was football. He was an incredible sounding board to me and so many others. There will never be another John Madden, and we will forever be indebted to him for all he did to make football and the NFL what it is today.”
According to the statement, memorial service details “will be announced when available.”
Hired by Davis as a linebackers coach in 1967, Madden helped the Raiders reach what would become known as Super Bowl II, where they lost to Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers. After the 1968 season, John Rauch left Oakland for Buffalo, leaving a vacancy at head coach.
Davis chose to make Madden the youngest head coach in the league — younger than some of his players. That dynamic, combined with Madden’s passionate coaching style and how he treated players, endeared him to members of the Raiders’ roster.
“It was like playing for your big brother,” former quarterback Ken Stabler told The Chronicle in 2006. “I think his age helped a lot — that and the fact he had so much confidence in us. He let us be the people we wanted to be off the field, and he let us be the players we wanted to be on the field.”

Said former Raiders linebacker Phil Villapiano: “He loved outrageousness and he appreciated it when you worked your ass off. It was the job you always wanted, because you just had to do the job. No BS. No politics. No backstabbing. That’s why I loved playing for him. He just let me play football.”
Madden could bark at players and gesticulate and yell on the sidelines. But he also allowed his players latitude at a time when many successful coaches were more straightlaced. Madden’s three rules, he later said, were simple: Be on time, pay attention, play hard when instructed. And his teams helped cultivate the Raiders’ image of swaggering toughness.
“When you have a good team, as we did, a good coach gives the players a little freedom,” said the late Willie Brown, a former Raiders cornerback. “John liked for us to be in before curfew, but he also knew certain players would probably be out after curfew. He didn’t want to know about it; he’d say, ‘Just don’t tell me.’”
While some wondered about the dynamic between Madden and Davis, who was demanding of his coaches, Madden maintained afterward the two worked well together. “Anything that I ever wanted that had to do with football, he supported me,” Madden told NFL Films in 2017. “It was a perfect situation, it was a perfect thing for me.”
Madden’s first Raiders team finished 12-1-1 but lost to the Chiefs in the AFL title game. It was the start of a frustrating trend: In Madden’s first seven seasons, the Raiders reached the conference title game five times and lost. They also lost in the divisional round of the 1972 playoffs to the Pittsburgh Steelers on one of the most memorable plays in NFL history.

Late in a game the Raiders led 7-6, Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw a pass intended for John Fuqua that was broken up by Jack Tatum and deflected to Franco Harris, who ran it in for the winning touchdown in what became known as the “Immaculate Reception.”
During a 2002 broadcast, on the 30th anniversary of the play, Madden recalled: “That was the night before Christmas Eve, and that was a big old lump of coal. And that big old lump of coal has been sitting down there for 30 years.”
. When Madden secured his 100th win in 1978, he became the third-youngest coach to do so behind George Halas and Curly Lambeau.
“There are men who can speak to you on Sunday mornings and your pulse rises,” former Raider cornerback Lester Hayes said in 2006. “That’s a very unique gift Coach Madden had … He would speak about war, and it would sound so good I thought I was listening to the second coming of General George S. Patton. It was like that every week.”
After the Raiders missed the playoffs in 1978, for only the second time in his tenure, Madden retired from coaching. As he later told NFL Films: “We won every game that there is. Regular-season game, playoff game, championship game, Super Bowl game. All we could do was do it again. And that didn’t excite me.”
But he didn’t stray far. Madden began his broadcasting career in 1979 with CBS and ultimately called games for all four major networks, becoming one of the sport’s most recognizable faces over the next three decades.
In the booth Madden was incomparable, frantically illustrating plays with the telestrator and punctuating his descriptions with sounds like “boom,” “wham” and “doink.” He worked with a few partners before CBS paired him with play-by-play man Pat Summerall. The two would call games together for 22 years, including eight Super Bowls, with Summerall’s low-key steadiness balancing Madden’s energy.
“He was John Wayne and Walter Cronkite,” Madden told NFL Films. “He could keep everything on an even keel. I’d be wandering off and then Pat could summarize it, like, in three words. And I’d think, ‘That’s what I was trying to say.’”

John Madden talks about the 49ers many offensive weapons as he cruises around Pleasanton. John Madden, the former Oakland Raiders coach, and television personality talked about the 49ers and the upcoming playoff game at his offices in Pleasanton, Calif. Tuesday January 15, 2013.
Brant Ward / The Chronicle
Madden’s quirks, though, only contributed to his persona. Afraid of flying, Madden drove between cities for broadcasts in a customized bus he named the “Madden Cruiser.” He selected players for his yearly “All-Madden” team based on hard-nosed, gritty play as much as performance.
His down-to-earth, sometimes rambling style belied a dedication to the craft. Al Michaels, who called games with Madden on “Monday Night Football,” told the New