The Shoemaker Bugle

By Nathaniel Enciso and Damian Murillo

The legacy of John Madden is being one of the best coaches out of all coaches the Raiders ever had. This is particularly impressive when you consider that the Raiders was the only team he ever coached and was the coach for the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978. Since then, this team is now the Las Vegas Raiders. At the time John was coaching, he was one of the best in the league. However, as good as he was at his job, he didn’t get into the Hall of Fame until 2006, many years after his retirement from playing football in 1958. Unfortunately, John Madden passed away at the age of 85 due to unidentified causes in his home in Pleasanton, California on December 28, 2021.

Before John Madden coached for the NFL, he coached college football at California Polytechnic State University for 3 years (1959-1961). The first year John coached the Raiders, he led them to a 12-1-1 record; they were first in the AFL western division, but lost the AFL Championship Game. After a couple of years of getting into the playoffs and losing, finally John Madden led the Oakland Raiders to their first Super Bowl win in 1976. Madden retired after the 1978 NFL season when he couldn’t take the Raiders to the playoffs. During his 10-year coaching career the combined record for wins, losses, and ties was 103-32-7, so you can say that his time as a coach was pretty impressive.

After Madden retired as a coach, he became a commentator for the NFL in 1979. His voice was broadcast from all the four major sports networks: CBS, FOX, ABC, and NBC. John Madden was a great coach, commentator, and father. He has two kids, Joseph Madden who was born in 1954, and Michael Madden, who was born in 1958. His children were in their late sixties when their father passed. This is the great legacy of John Madden and one that should and will forever be remembered.