John Madden, the legendary NFL coach and broadcaster who died in late December, will have a public memorial service in Oakland, California, next month. It was recently announced that the service will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 15, and the NFL said further details will be announced soon. Madden was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders (now Las Vegas Raiders) from 1967-1978 and led the team to a Super Bowl title in 1976.
This comes after the Raiders honored Madden during the team’s final game of the regular season against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night. The Madden family was in attendance to light the Al Davis Memorial Torch to kick off the big matchup. The presence of Madden helped the Raiders win and reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
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“John was a gifted coach, motivator and communicator,” former Raiders linebacker Monte Johnson said. “He always wrote on the whiteboard the first day of training camp: ‘K.I.S.S.’ [Keep It Simple, Stuipid.] That was not meant to be critical or demeaning, he really believed that football was a simple game of blocking, tackling, running, throwing and catching the ball. If you did those things well each Sunday, you would win, with one goal in mind, and that one goal every year was to win the Super Bowl.”
“So many things about John, but one of the things I really would love to point out is the fact that he made everybody around him better,” Madden’s former broadcaster partner Al Michaels said. “He was excited and excitable, and his enthusiasm for the game and for his work was infectious. It rubbed off on all of us. John was excited to come to work. He brought with him this wonderful attitude and feeling and love of the game, and it translated to everybody else.”
Madden retired from coaching after the 1978 season and made his way into broadcasting, working for CBS, Fox, ABC and NBC. His charisma in the booth led to him winning 12 Emmy Awards and ranked among the best TV Network Sports Announcers of All Time. Madden is also known for being the face of the Madden NFL video game from EA Sports, which is still going on strong today.
