Hall of Fame NFL Coach and Broadcaster John Madden Dead at 85

John Madden, a Hall of Fame coach and legendary NFL broadcaster, died unexpectedly on Tuesday morning, the NFL announced. Madden was 85 years old.

In a statement, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell expressed condolences to Virginia, Mike, and Joe and their families. In addition to being a Hall of Fame coach of the Oakland Raiders and a broadcaster of NFL scores, he loved his family and worked for every major network.

Coach Madden was the epitome of football. He was a sounding board to me and so many others. There will never be another John Madden, and we will always be indebted to him for all he did to make football and the NFL what they are today.

From 1969 to 1978, Madden was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders for ten seasons. He won the franchise’s first championship with a win over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI. He never had a losing season as a head coach and had a regular-season record of 103-32-7.

Madden was the youngest coach to eclipse the 100-win mark in NFL history when he accomplished the feat at the age of 42, and he remains the winningest coach in Raiders history. With a .759 winning percentage, he also holds the best winning percentage by an NFL head coach (minimum of 10 seasons).

In a statement, the Raiders expressed their deep sadness over Madden’s passing. Coach Madden’s impact on professional football both on and off the field was immeasurable, and few people had a greater impact on the growth of the sport than Madden.”

Coach Madden was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Jim Porter, president of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, said in a statement that the entire family mourns Coach Madden’s passing. Few coaches have had as much impact on the sport of professional football on so many different levels as Coach Madden. He was a coach on the field, a coach in the broadcast booth, and a coach in life.

He was dearly loved by millions of football fans around the world.”

After retiring as a coach after the 1979 season, Madden turned to broadcast, where he had an unparalleled impact on the game talking about NFL scores.

For many generations, the voice of Madden has been synonymous with football as he was a well-known colour commentator on NFL broadcasts from 1979 to 2008. In his unrivalled broadcasting career, Madden worked with Pat Summerall and Al Michaels on 16 Emmy award-winning broadcasts. In April of 2009, he retired from his position as an analyst after calling 11 Super Bowls.

A video game series based on Madden’s voice, personality, and understanding of the game was released in 1988. It was Madden who first graced the cover of the video game until 2001 when NFL players began an ongoing tradition of being on the cover every year.

It is a great honour for today’s NFL players, especially those who grew up playing video games, to grace the cover of the magazine. More than 250 million copies of the Madden NFL series have been sold by Electronic Arts.