The 72-year-old Madden will spend this coming Sunday with his family in Northern California rather than make three back-to-back cross-country trips. He has a well-known fear of flying, and thus takes a bus from game to game.
He was in Jacksonville, FL., on Oct. 5 for the Jaguars vs. Steelers game, and then drove back west to San Diego this past Sunday for the Oct. 12 Chargers vs. Patriots game. Madden would have then had to drive back to Florida for the Oct. 19 matchup in Tampa of the Buccaneers and Seahawks.
Because Game 4 of the World Series is being broadcast the following Sunday on Fox, NBC isn’t broadcasting an NFL game, so this actually gives Madden two weeks off in a row.
An American Icon
John Madden has won 15 Emmy awards, and is renowned for his ability to analyze games with a classic wit. He was also inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2006 in recognition of his career as head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969–1978.
“John Madden is the best analyst in the history of the National Football League and, in my opinion, the best analyst of any kind in sports television history,” says Dick Ebersol, Chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics, on Madden’s biography page of NBC’s Website.
“John is much more than a football legend, he’s an American icon. He is the only sports television talent who resonates across all ages—kids grow up today playing his video game and watching him on TV, as their fathers grew up watching him on NFL sidelines every Sunday as the head coach with the best winning percentage in league history,” continues Ebersol.
The day off from broadcasting was Ebersol’s idea. He told the Washington Post, “It’s just a week to rest my best player. It’s like giving your best starting pitcher an extra day off in the rotation.”
NBC is adamant that they want Madden to continue broadcasting through his six-year contract, of which he is currently in year three. He will be replaced in the booth on Sunday by Cris Collinsworth.
Madden blames the hard travel schedule on the fact that the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders don’t win enough. Otherwise, he says, he would get to work from his hometown more often.
Madden’s coaching record with the Raiders makes him the winningest NFL coach ever. Under his leadership, the Raiders had a .759 winning percentage for regular season games, the highest percentage among coaches with at least 100 career victories. His total record for regular season games was 103 wins, 32 losses, and 7 ties. The Raiders also won Super Bowl XI while he was coach.
Madden was the AFL coach of the year in 1969, his first year as head coach of the Raiders. He was also the youngest coach in the league at the time.
Whether it was on the field as a player in his youth, on the sidelines as a coach in his prime, or in the announcer’s box during his golden years, John Madden has been a staple of American football for over four decades. And after a record like that, it’s safe to say that this is one hard-earned day off.
John Madden will be back on NBC Sunday Night Football Nov. 2 for the Colts Vs. Patriots game.
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