By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
Legendary John Madden has passed away. He was 85.
An official cause of death has not been announced yet. He passed away on Tuesday morning, according to reports.
“Nobody loved football more than Coach,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement Tuesday evening. “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.”
Madden was a 21st round draft pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1958 NFL Draft. He never played a game with the team.
An injury cost Madden an opportunity to play professional football.
He then went into coaching in 1960 with the Allan Hancock College. He also served a stint as the defensive coordinator with the San Diego State Aztecs.
Madden was the Oakland Raiders linebackers coach from 1967 and 1968. He became the team’s head coach in 1969 and led the team through the 1978 season.
He guided the team to the Super Bowl Championship in Super Bowl XI. He was named the PFW AFL Coach of the Year in 1969.
As the Raiders head coach, he went 103-32-7. He also went 9-7 in the playoffs.
After coaching, he went into broadcasting. He was employed by CBS Sports, Fox Sports, ABC Sports, and NBC Sports.
If you did not know Madden for his coaching or broadcasting career, you likely knew about him from his video game called Madden. The video game has been around since 1988.
“I am not aware of anyone who has made a more meaningful impact on the National Football League than John Madden,” Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement Tuesday. “And I know of no one who loved the game more.”
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