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Hall of Fame NFL coach and broadcaster John Madden has died today. He was 85. The NFL says he died unexpectedly.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said:
On behalf of the entire NFL family, we extend our condolences to Virginia, Mike, Joe and their families. 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.
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.
During Madden’s 10 seasons as the Raiders head coach, he led Oakland to the playoffs eight times. The Raiders never had a losing season under him. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as coach in 2006. For more than 20 seasons, Madden provided commentary for NFL games for FOX, ABC, NBC and CBS. He won 16 Emmy Awards for outstanding sports personality/analyst. He was also a best-selling author and the face of “Madden NFL Football” - one of the most successful sports video games of all-time.
When elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Madden said:
People always ask, are you a coach or a broadcaster or a video game guy? - I’m a coach, always been a coach.