What happened to John Madden? NFL Hall of Famer passes away at 85
NFL Hall of Fame coach and broadcaster John Madden passed away on Tuesday at the age of 85. The legendary coach's sudden demise created an instant reaction and outpouring of support from all across the NFL.
From Tom Brady to Adam Schefter and to every corner of the league, people are giving support and grieving the loss of one of the most remarkable faces in the game.
Cause of John Madden's death remains unknown
At this time, the cause of John Madden's passing is not known. Based on public knowledge, the health of the head coach was relatively normal for his age.
As such, his death caught the NFL world by surprise.
Adam Schefter used the word "unexpected" in his announcement of the passing of the legendary coach and commentator.
On Christmas day, FOX premiered "All Madden," which was a special dedicated to summarizing the life and times of one of the most influential minds the NFL has ever known.
John Madden's life
Madden began his coaching career at the age of 24 in 1960 at Allan Hancock College as an assistant coach, according to Pro Football Reference.
In 1962, Madden became the head coach at the university. In 1964, he was hired by San Diego State to serve as the defensive coordinator.
He served in that role from 1964-1966. His next jump was into the NFL.
In 1967, Madden started out with the Oakland Raiders as linebackers coach. At the end of the 1968 season, at the age of 33, Madden stepped into the role of head coach.
Under Madden, the Raiders only missed the playoffs once. They made the conference championship seven times with Madden as head coach and won the Super Bowl in 1977 in his penultimate season.
I was saddened to hear about the passing of John Madden, at age 85. One the all-time greats, he showed me the ropes during our brief football partnership. He was always kind and delightful. He can now join his former partner, Pat Summerall, in calling Super Bowls in heaven.
According to Britannica, in 1979, Madden made the jump into the commentating booth, where his personality and the love he had of the game made him an icon.
He and the legendary Pat Summerall became an iconic commentating duo that called games for CBS and Fox. Madden commentated on his last game in 2009.
In total, Madden spent 30 years commentating on games.
NFL legend John Madden died unexpected this morning. He was 85. https://t.co/FoC1mAzoF6
Yet another aspect of the coach and commentator that catapulted his status was the Madden video game franchise, which was launched in 1989. He lent his name to the upstart video game and as the game grew in popularity over the ensuing video game revolution, his name grew as well.
After retiring in 2009 (per ESPN), Madden spent his remaining time largely incognito.
Thankfully for him, Madden was able to receive his "flowers" while here as part of the Christmas Day special "All Madden" just days ago.