In sad news on Tuesday evening, the NFL announced that legendary coach and broadcaster John Madden had passed away. He was 85 years old.
"On behalf of the entire NFL family, we extend our condolences to Virginia, Mike, Joe and their families," said Roger Goodell in a statement. "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."
Starting his head coaching career with the Oakland Raiders in 1969, Madden led the franchise through an incredibly successful 10-year span, registering a 103-32-7 record. In 1976, at age 40, Madden coached the Raiders to a 13-1 regular season record, capped off with a Super Bowl victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI.
Madden furthered his legacy off the field, becoming an icon in the broadcasting booth for his color commentary for several major networks. His name is also recognized for its contributions to the virtual football world, as the Madden NFL video game series is one of the most popular and successful sports video game franchises of all time and is still running to this day. Madden was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
A documentary celebrating Madden's career achievements, "All Madden," aired on Christmas day and will be available to stream on a number of platforms in the new year (via Awful Announcing).
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