In 1974, after knocking the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins out of the playoffs in dramatic fashion, the Raiders again lost to the Steelers in the AFC Championship game. One of the most frustrating playoff defeats came in 1972, when what appeared to be a last-minute AFC championship victory over the Steelers instead became a part of football lore when Franco Harris' " Immaculate Reception" gave Pittsburgh a 13–7 win.
Oakland won seven AFC West division championships and always played to a winning record during his ten seasons as head coach, but they also lost in seven AFL/ AFC Championship Games.
This would become a frustrating trend during Madden's coaching career. Madden's first Raiders squad went 12–1–1 in 1969 but lost 17–7 to the Kansas City Chiefs in the last-ever American Football League Championship Game.
A year later, after Raiders head coach John Rauch resigned to take the same position with the Buffalo Bills, Madden was named the Raiders' head coach on February 4, 1969, becoming, at the age of 32, professional football's youngest head coach to that time.
He helped the team reach Super Bowl II that season. Professional coaching with the Oakland Raiders īuilding on that success, Madden was hired by Al Davis as linebackers coach for the AFL's Oakland Raiders in 1967, putting him in the Sid Gillman coaching tree. While at San Diego State, Madden coached under Don Coryell, whom Madden credited as being an influence on his coaching. During that final campaign, the 1966 Aztecs were ranked among the top small colleges in the country. Following the 1963 season, he was hired as a defensive assistant coach at San Diego State, where he served through 1966. Madden went 12-6 in two seasons, including an 8-1 mark in 1963. In 1960, he became an assistant coach at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California. I ended up with a degree in teaching and my love for football meshed with teaching." While I was rehabbing, Norm Van Brocklin would be watching films and would explain what was happening. "I got hurt in my rookie year with the Philadelphia Eagles – a knee injury – and I couldn't play. Madden recounted how he became involved with coaching: Madden was drafted in the 21st round (244th overall) by the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in 1958, but suffered an injury on his other knee in his first training camp, ending his playing career without having had an opportunity to play professionally. He won all-conference honors at offensive tackle, and was a catcher on Cal Poly's baseball team. Then he attended the College of San Mateo in 1955, then Grays Harbor College playing in the fall of 1956, before transferring to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, where he played both offense and defense for the Mustangs in 1957 while earning a Bachelor of Science in education in 1959 and a Master of Arts in education in 1961. He was redshirted because of a knee injury and had a knee operation. Playing career Ī football star in high school, Madden played one season at the College of San Mateo, in 1954, before he was given a football scholarship to the University of Oregon, studying pre-law, and playing football with childhood friend John Robinson. John attended Catholic parochial school with John Robinson at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, graduating in 1950, and then Jefferson High School, graduating in 1954. His father, an auto mechanic, moved the Madden family to Daly City, California, located south of San Francisco, when John was young. John Earl Madden was born in Austin, Minnesota on April 10, 1936, the son of Earl Russell Madden (1905-1961) and Mary (née Flaherty) Madden (1917-2011).
Madden was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
He also lent his name, expertise, and commentary to the Madden NFL video game series (1988–present), which became the best-selling American football video game franchise of all time. Madden appeared on all four major American television networks, providing commentary for games broadcast by CBS, Fox, ABC, and NBC. Never having a losing season, Madden holds the highest winning percentage among NFL head coaches who coached 100 games.Īfter retiring from coaching, Madden was a color commentator for NFL telecasts from 1979 to 2008, which earned him 16 Sports Emmy Awards. He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, whom he led to eight playoff appearances, seven division titles, seven AFL / AFC Championship Game appearances, and the franchise's first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XI. John Earl Madden (Ap– December 28, 2021) was an American football player, coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL).