Madden, John E.
Football
b. April 10, 1936, Austin, MN
Madden went to high school in California and spent two years at the College of San Mateo before entering California Polytechnic at San Luis Obispo, where he was a starting tackle for two years. Drafted by the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, he injured a knee during the team's 1959 training camp, ending his playing career.
He became an assistant coach at Allen Hancock College while studying for his master's degree at his alma mater. In 1962, Madden took over as head coach and had a 12-6-0 record in two seasons at Hancock, then moved on to San Diego State as an assistant from 1964 through 1966.
The AFL's Oakland Raiders hired Madden as an assistant in 1967 and made him head coach two years later. Madden was immediately successful, taking the team to a 12-1-1 regular season record and winning the league's coach of the year award. However, Oakland lost 17-7 to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFL championship game.
The Raiders won seven Western Division titles during his ten seasons. They won 13 of 14 regular season games in 1976, beat the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC title, and won Super Bowl XI 32-14 against the Minnesota Vikings.
At 6-foot-4 and anywhere from 250 to 275 pounds, Madden was a colorful figure on the sidelines, exhorting his players and often confronting officials when he disagreed with their calls. He retired from coaching after the 1978 season with a 112-39-7 record, a .731 winning percentage.
Madden became a very popular television commentator with CBS, displaying the same kind of exuberance and enthusiasm that he had as a coach. When the Fox Network won rights to NFL games for the 1994 season, Madden was signed to do commentary. In 2003, he became the analyst on Monday Night Football.