Post by TheShadow on Jul 30, 2006 9:03:15 GMT -5
www.contracostatimes.com
Coach defined commitment to excellence
By Cam Inman
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
It's early November 1966 and John Madden sits on a bench outside San Diego State's noisy locker room.
He's scheming in peace, a young defensive coordinator plotting the perfect formula to outsmart top-ranked North Dakota State.
"So I'm sitting on the bench, and Al Davis comes up. He was there scouting for the Raiders," Madden recently recalled in an exclusive interview with the Times. "He sat down next to me and started off asking, 'What are you doing?'"
For the next hour, Madden and Davis talked football, throwing out terms such as "split T" and "hit the gap."
So it began, a relationship that blossomed into Super Bowl bliss, a Raiders coaching career that will vault Madden into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday in Canton, Ohio.
"He's deserving," said Davis, who will present Madden at the enshrinement ceremony. "It's so (expletive) unfair that it's happening now. But what the hell, it's happening."
Madden's induction comes almost 30 years since his last game with the Raiders in 1978. Almost 40 years since his San Diego State defense shut out North Dakota State in a 36-0 victory by the Aztecs, who finished undefeated in 1966. Almost 45 years since he first stepped on a field as a coach and told his wife, "Someday I'm going to make money coaching."
How did Madden do it? He had stepping stones, like most anyone else, and by turning over those stones, you will truly discover the relatively untold path he took to coaching immortality.
"He's a Hall of Fame coach," former Raiders center Jim Otto said, "and I'd fight anybody who didn't say so."
Madden's coaching roots still run deep in his soul, even while he's branched out in so many other directions -- Emmy Award-winning broadcaster; video-game icon; radio-show storyteller; real estate developer; a pitchman for a steakhouse chain, beer, hardware and anti-foot fungus medicine; bus-riding legend; budding winemaker; bocce ball enthusiast and proud Pleasanton resident.
He turned 70 on April 10, long removed from when Davis entrusted him with the Raiders' head-coaching duties in 1969, a lofty promotion for a 32-year-old who spent the two previous years as the Raiders' first linebackers coach.
One decade. That's all he served as the Raiders head coach, all the time he needed to produce one of the finest records ever in pro football. He had 103 wins and seven ties in 142 regular-season games, giving him a .759 winning percentage that ranks No. 1 among coaches with at least 100 victories.
"His records are unparalleled," Davis said. "He had 10 years of greatness."
Madden didn't even have 10 years of coaching experience when Davis anointed him John Rauch's replacement.
If not for a knee injury, Madden might have been lining up at offensive tackle back then for the Philadelphia Eagles. Selected in the 21st round of the 1958 NFL draft with the 244th overall pick, Madden saw his playing career come to an abrupt end when he tore knee ligaments in a rookie camp. "But I made a good block," Madden said, chuckling. "I blocked my guy."
His rehabilitation sessions at the Eagles' facility introduced him to a side of football that sparked his interest in coaching. Hall of Fame quarterback Norm Van Brocklin would be in the locker room every morning watching game film and often called over Madden to sit with him after physical therapy.
"The longer that season went, the more I knew that I better start getting serious on this coaching thing because it doesn't look like I'd ever be playing again," Madden said.
He didn't play again and instead returned to where he played his final games -- Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.
Go there today and you'll see subtle reminders of his Cal Poly days. Upstairs in the tired Mott Gym, his plaque hangs just above baseball great Ozzie Smith's in a conference room that doubles as the Cal Poly Athletic Hall of Fame. Downtown at the Firestone Grill, his green No. 74 football jersey is framed and on display next to big-screen televisions.
A right tackle for the football team in 1957 and '58 -- he also played catcher on the baseball squad -- Madden came back to Cal Poly in 1960 to obtain his master's degree and teaching credential.
He did his student teaching at San Luis Obispo High School, where he debuted as a coach. He ran the spring football program until the new coach, Jack Frost, arrived. The Tigers won the Southern Section championship that fall.
"The athletic director, Phil Prijatel, asked me if I would coach the high school team in spring football," Madden said. "I had a hell of a lot more confidence than I had talent. So I said yes."
Said Prijatel: "I remember the squint in his eye when he was coaching there. You're talking 50 years ago, but I remember him as the most unpretentious person I'd ever seen. He just blended in with the woodwork."
That same spring, Madden volunteered to coach in the Cal Poly alumni game. His side won, and he told his young wife, Virginia, he'd someday earn a living as a coach. "She just laughed," recalled Madden, who will celebrate his 47th wedding anniversary Dec. 26.
His first paid coaching job came 30 miles down the Central Coast at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria. Go by there today and you will be hard-pressed to find any Madden memorabilia, or even any sign of the 1960 state title the Bulldogs won in his first season as the line coach under Al Baldock.
"He was almost shy," Baldock said. "I don't yell, swear and jump, nor did our whole staff. I don't believe in being boisterous, swearing, yelling."
Madden, of course, was the opposite by the time he landed on the sideline with the Raiders. "I was emotional and passionate, just because I loved the game. I coached that way," Madden said of his Raiders days. "I never coached mad."
During Hancock's 1960 championship season, tragedy struck. A plane carrying the Cal Poly football team, which included relatives of some Hancock players, crashed in Toledo, Ohio, after the Mustangs' 50-6 loss to Bowling Green. Twenty-two people died.
As the Hancock players got dressed and headed to the field to play West Hills College in Coalinga, news arrived about the plane crash. "We won the game," Baldock recalled, "but no one was enthused."
Madden, of course, no longer flies, citing claustrophobia as the reason rather than any direct link to the Cal Poly tragedy. He last flew on Thanksgiving weekend 1979, his first year as a television analyst. Instead of flying from Tampa to Houston to San Francisco, he got off in Houston after enduring his third panic attack on a plane.
"The flight attendant closed the door, that feeling came over me," Madden recalled. "I said, 'If I get through this, if I get to Houston, I'll never get on another airplane as long as I live.'"
He did fly during his days with the Raiders, but things weren't so luxurious at Hancock, where he had no full-time assistants. Madden became the head coach at Hancock in 1962 after two years as Baldock's assistant. He posted a record of 4-5 his first season and 8-1 in 1963.
While living up Highway 101 in Shell Beach, he opened his door to college coaches passing through on recruiting trips, including San Diego State's Don Coryell, whom he first met at a coaching seminar on the "I" formation. Coryell would later win 114 games in his NFL career as head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Chargers.
"We'd sit at the kitchen table with a bottle of whiskey and talk football," Madden said.
Madden left Hancock to become Coryell's defensive coordinator at San Diego State in 1964, but not because of his open-door hospitality. Coryell remembers scouting a community college game in Riverside when the opposing defense made him take notice.
"They were playing all over the field, knocking the heck out of anybody," Coryell said. When he needed a new defensive coordinator, Coryell hired Madden, the designer of that menacing defense.
"He was great with the players. They loved him, and he loved them. Everything worked mutually," Coryell said. "He was easy to work with, no problem. He proved to be a great, great coach. I knew I'd lose him sooner or later."
Before Madden left San Diego State after three seasons, he made an all-time classic move. He threatened to fire Joe Gibbs from his defensive staff. The same Gibbs who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame 10 years ago. Madden and Gibbs were coaching against each other in a spring alumni game, and Gibbs refused to let Madden know what plays he might run.
"So I said, 'Look, if you don't give them to me, you'll never coach with me again for the rest of my life.' I figured that would get him," Madden said. "He said OK and never gave them to me. But I was an assistant coach. I didn't have the right to fire him. I was bluffing."
Madden's team won, and Gibbs thought he was unemployed, at least until Coryell promptly moved him to the offensive staff.
San Diego State was a national powerhouse back then, and Madden used to visit the campus office of former Aztecs coach Paul Governali, who, unbeknownst to Madden, was a close friend of Al Davis'.
Madden figures Governali recommended him to Davis when the Raiders went searching for a linebackers coach. His one-hour chat on the bench with Davis helped, too.
"I didn't think anything of it. I went home thinking I'd probably never talk to him again," Madden said. "... I didn't know I was being interviewed when I was putting in the defense against North Dakota State."
In his first season as the Raiders linebackers coach, Madden found himself coaching against his idol, Vince Lombardi. It was Super Bowl II in Miami, and although the Raiders fell 33-14 to the Green Bay Packers, Madden couldn't believe where his career had taken him.
Said Madden: "I look across the field at Vince Lombardi, who was always my idol, and I'm thinking, 'I'm telling defensive guys what to call against Vince Lombardi. Holy (cow). This is pretty good.'"
After the Raiders lost the following season in the AFL championship game to the New York Jets, Rauch resigned, headed for the Buffalo Bills and asked Madden if he wanted to come. Not long after, the Pittsburgh Steelers hired Chuck Noll to be their coach, and he asked Madden to become his defensive coordinator.
Madden's loyalty rested with the Raiders.
"Talk about a fork in the road and how things could have changed," Madden said of Noll's offer. "I said (to Noll) that I've got to take a shot at being a head coach here."
When it came to replacing Rauch, Davis said his two candidates were Noll, his roommate when they were assistants with the San Diego Chargers, and Madden.
"I knew Chuck could get the Pittsburgh job, and I knew John would not have a head (coaching) job," Davis said. "John said to me -- he was bluffing -- he said, 'If you're ever going to name me a head coach, you better do it now. Why am I going to be any better in two years than now?'
"I was trying to tell him he's growing and all of that," Davis added. "The more I talked to him, the more I said (the heck with) it."
Said Madden: "My point was, 'Hell, I can do it. If I can't do it now, if I can't be a head coach, I'll never be a head coach.' It's a skill set, a talent, it's who you are and what you are."
Davis loved Madden's people skills, not to mention his educated background, his understanding of "the whole total picture," his grasp of defensive schemes and his willingness to learn.
But something else also made Madden the right fit.
"There's no one who did more for racial diversity than the Raiders of Oakland, and John Madden, because of his position, was in the middle of the fight, and he saw no color," Davis said. "He was the perfect representative of my thinking with players. He became the head coach in '69, and '68 was when Martin Luther King Jr. was killed."
Davis said he never worried that Madden might be too young, and linebacker Dan Conners said Madden's age "never entered my mind because everyone else was young."
"He knew his defense, because at that time, there was no room for error," Conners added. "If he made a mistake, (the players) would be on him. He was like a teacher. He drove into our heads that you don't make mistakes."
That era's Raiders were known as much, if not more, for their cast of renegades as they were for their victories.
"To him, we were all normal. To other people, we were characters," said Art Shell, a Hall of Fame left tackle under Madden and now the Raiders coach. "He's a great coach. John understood his players. He knew exactly what buttons to push on each individual on that football team. He could get people to play for him."
Said Otto, one of nine Hall of Famers to play for Madden: "He's a winner and he was able to lead us in that way. He set the intensity and made us go. There aren't many like that. He's special."
He also was an innovator. Madden claims he was the first coach to hold spring minicamps, film practices and send extra men into huddles during games (a practice that later was outlawed). His practices were long, and fundamentals weren't forgotten, but "we used to laugh at practice," Madden said.
"The nature of his team reflected his personality -- aggressive, almost over-the-top aggressive," former Denver Broncos linebacker Tom Jackson said. "In terms of execution, they were going to be almost flawless."
Madden steered the Raiders to AFC Western Division titles in 1970 and '72-'76. During the Broncos' surge to division and AFC titles in 1977, Jackson yelled to Madden on the sideline in an October matchup, "It's all over, fat man." Jackson attributes the remark to his pent-up frustration from past losses to the Raiders.
"He was a tremendous game-day coach," former Raiders scout Ron Wolf said of Madden. "As a head coach, the Raiders won a lot of games with his decision-making at the end of a game."
Madden's defining game came in the 1976 season, the first to end with a Super Bowl trophy for the Raiders.
On the Thursday before that Super Bowl XI victory over the Minnesota Vikings at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the Raiders worked out on a rain-soaked UC Irvine field and produced "as perfect a practice" as Madden said he'd ever seen. Only one of quarterback Ken Stabler's passes hit the ground.
Two nights later, on the eve of the Super Bowl, Madden told Davis on the phone from his hotel room: "Al, we're going to kill them."
Madden recalled Davis' reaction: "Don't say that! Don't say that!"
"I thought we could do it," Davis said of the Raiders' 32-14 win over the Vikings. "I thought personally we were going to win some other championship games. We just didn't get it done."
The 1969 Raiders lost the final AFL championship game in Madden's first season. They also dropped AFC championship games in the 1970 season (at Baltimore), 1973 (at Miami), '74 (vs. Pittsburgh) and '75 (at Pittsburgh). The 1972 campaign ended with Franco Harris' "Immaculate Reception" in a playoff loss at Pittsburgh.
"We were fighting this thing together, we would break through," Davis said of the mentality he and Madden had during that stretch of postseason defeats.
Madden said Davis never turned down any request he had for the team. But that didn't mean they always agreed.
"I used to love sitting around at night at training camp and just have arguments," Madden said. "We'd start it off -- it was always a trade -- 'Would you take ... '"
After the 1978 season, Madden debated whether to retire. He had a Super Bowl ring and although he wanted one more, the only other ring he got was from his wife to commemorate his 100th win.
Lombardi coached for only 10 years, so Madden, with an ulcer flaring up, figured a decade would suffice for him. He couldn't see himself preparing again for the draft, minicamps and training camp.
"So I thought I'd get out and do something else," said Madden, who had a winning record against each of the 10 Hall of Fame coaches he faced. "Had I not got into broadcasting and enjoyed it ... broadcasting was not the same as coaching, but it filled the void."
His "Boom, Boom!" broadcasting career -- from CBS to Fox, ABC and now NBC -- has lasted longer than his coaching days. But it's "not close, not close" to the joy he felt coaching the Raiders.
"Don't you know," Davis said, "we were kids living in the candy store."
Come Saturday, Madden's legacy will be alive and well in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
THIS FILE CONTAINS: Madden bio; coaching file; quote box
MADDEN BIO
COACHING CAREER
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
• NAME: John Earl Madden
• BORN: April 10, 1936, Austin, Minn.
• HIGH SCHOOL: Jefferson-Daly City
• COLLEGE: Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, College of San Mateo
• FAMILY: Wife, Virginia, married 46 years; sons Mike (42) and Joe (40); grandchildren Sam (5), Jack (4), Jesse (3), Aidan (2) and Makenna (1)
• HOMETOWN: Pleasanton
• CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Won Super Bowl XI by defeating Minnesota Vikings 32-14 at Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Jan. 9, 1977. ... Had a regular-season record of 103-32-7 (.759 winning percentage, best among coaches with 100 victories). ... Was 9-7 in postseason play, giving him 112-39-7 overall record. ... Never had a losing record in 10 seasons. ... Reached AFL championship game in rookie season as coach (lost 17-7 to Kansas City Chiefs) and won AFL Coach of Year honors. ... Coached in seven AFC championship games, winning only in the 1976 season, 24-7 over the Pittsburgh Steelers. ... Coached nine Hall of Fame players: center Jim Otto, quarterback/kicker George Blanda, cornerback Willie Brown, guard Gene Upshaw, wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff, offensive tackle s Art Shell and Bob Brown, linebacker Ted Hendricks and tight end Dave Casper.
• OTHER INTERESTS: Won 15 Sports Emmy Awards as a game analyst for CBS, Fox, ABC; begins first season on NBC in 2006. ... His EA Sports video game, "Madden NFL Football," is the top selling sports video game of all time, with more than 51 million copies sold since its release in 1989. ... He's a spokesman for Ace Hardware, Outback Steakhouse, Schering Plough (Tinactin), Verizon Wireless and Sirius Satellite Radio. ... He's written four New York Times best-selling books. His children's book, "Heroes of Football," is set for release in August. ... Joined with his son Mike's in-laws to launch a wine label in 2001 called "Two Grandfathers." He's also produced a wine with Olympic ice skater Peggy Fleming and sells grapes to Wente Vineyards. ... Does radio shows on KCBS (740-AM) and Sirius Satellite Radio. ... Member of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame, as well as those of Cal Poly, College of San Mateo and Daly City.
MADDEN BIO
COACHING CAREER
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
• San Luis Obispo High School:
Volunteer, 1960
• Hancock College-Santa Maria:
Line coach 1960-61, head coach 1962-63
• San Diego State:
Defensive coordinator 1964-66
• Oakland Raiders:
Linebackers coach 1967-68, head coach 1969-78
MADDEN BIO
COACHING CAREER
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
• "I just found an old coaching jacket with a pack of Parliament cigarettes in the pocket."
-- Virginia Madden, on digging through boxes of her husband's mementos for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
• "He understands people, can motivate people; players understand him and enjoy playing for him."
-- Don Coryell, San Diego State's head coach when Madden was the defensive coordinator from 1964 to '66.
• "While we both had egos, we could put ego aside for the better good. It's tough to find guys like that. It really is. But he was good."
-- Al Davis, Raiders managing general partner.
• "The big thing I can recall is his enthusiasm and desire for knowledge. ... He had a passion and that came forth."
-- Ron Wolf, who worked in the Raiders personnel department during Madden's tenure.
• "I've been waiting for (Madden's induction). I had a real good feeling it was going to happen."
-- Jim Otto, former Raiders center and a 1980 Hall of Fame inductee.
• "Our styles were absolutely different. John was a demonstrative guy in practice and on the sidelines, and I was not. His speeches were more emotional. Mine were probably boring as heck."
-- Tom Flores, who succeeded Madden as Raiders coach.
• "He was like our pop, like our dad. When there was a penalty, he would argue with the refs rather than allow the players to do that."
-- Jeff Barnes, former Raiders linebacker.
• "It's been a long time coming. John deserved to be in a lot earlier than now. He's well deserving of it. He was the youngest guy at one time to get 100 wins. His career was phenomenal."
-- Art Shell, a Hall of Fame offensive tackle under Madden and now the Raiders coach.
• "That was my thing at the time, I was going to teach, write books and teach people how to become a fan."
-- John Madden, on his post-coaching life and how he developed the video game bearing his name.
• "I'd go out there because I could see there was potential there."
-- Phil Prijatel, San Luis Obispo High School's athletic director who gave Madden his first coaching job overseeing the spring program.
• "At our (1960) banquet ... I got up and did a normal talk that a head coach does. Madden says to my wife, 'How does he get up and get in front of people and speak in public?'"
-- Al Baldock, Hancock College's coach, who hired Madden in 1960 as an assistant.
• "Everybody started on the same page. It was his first job, my first job and others' first job."
-- Dan Conners, a former Raiders linebacker, on what Madden was like when he arrived as the linebackers coach in 1967.