Seahawks Remember NFL Coaching, Broadcasting Legend John Madden
Long before finding his way to the Pacific Northwest, coach Pete Carroll began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Pacific University from 1973 to 1976. During that same time period, just 70 miles away in nearby Oakland, legendary coach John Madden racked up winning season after winning season and captured a Super Bowl victory with the Raiders.
Over the next five decades, despite heralding from the same state, Carroll rarely crossed paths with Madden. But the California native grew up rooting for both the 49ers and Raiders and held the legendary coach, broadcaster, and video game ambassador in the highest regard for his lasting impact on the sport.
"How iconic can you be?" Carroll said. "In this game, he was everything. Everybody loves him.
“His style crossed all lines. I’m sure there are a bunch of people that just wanted to watch the game just to see what he was going to say and how he was going to bring some kind of energy to it that made it more fun. It was really always about fun, he was always a guy that was making more fun for everybody. He had a great outlook and an intuition about the game and how it is played, how you should do it, and all that kind of stuff, but most of all he just made it more fun to be part of. I would think that he affected a lot of people, I can’t imagine not.”
One day after Madden passed away at the age of 85, Carroll shared one memorable interaction between the two that occurred early in his tenure with the Seahawks. Shortly after the team released their "Hawk tackling" video emphasizing rugby-style tackling aimed at taking the head out of the game of football, Madden called to offer his endorsement of the technique.
“I only talked to him a few times, but he called me. Remember when we sent out the ‘Hawk tackling’ video? He called me out of nowhere and I guess he is on the long-term [NFL Competition Committee], but taking care of the game, he said that it was one of the coolest things he has seen in a long time. He said that getting the head out of football is where the game should go, and he made a big deal about it. I was all charged up by the fact that he called out of nowhere."
Few people, if any, left a greater imprint on football and the NFL than Madden, who still holds the second-highest winning percentage for any coach in league history. When he retired from coaching in 1978, he immediately became an icon in the broadcast booth, using his booming voice, incredible knowledge, and passion for the game to endear himself to sports fans all over the globe. Starting in 1988, he lent his name, voice, and creative input to the development of the Madden video game series, which remains one of the most popular titles more than 30 years later.
Reaching the pinnacle of his profession in three different careers, it's easy to see why Madden's name resonates with so many people in and out of the NFL. He was larger than life personality whose greatness spanned multiple generations thanks to his numerous platforms.
Like Carroll, Seahawks defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. grew up in Los Angeles rooting for the Raiders. He cheered on Madden's teams as a youngster, developing an appreciation for his ability to get the most out of his players. Following a successful career with the Cowboys and 49ers, he later would coach in Oakland for three seasons and had the chance to meet his idol and several players who played for him.
"It’s just amazing the impact he had on the player-coach relationship," Norton Jr. reflected. "They really wanted to play hard for him. Everybody loved him. From a coach standpoint, when you have a team able to touch their buttons and play hard and run through a wall for you, like he had, that’s magic."
While Carroll and Norton revered Madden mostly for his contributions as a coach and a broadcaster, the majority of players in the NFL today entered the league after he retired from broadcasting in 2009. Many were born two decades after he coached his final NFL game with the Raiders.
Instead, this generation of players knows Madden best for the popular EA Sports video game series bearing his name. The former coach was heavily involved in the game's development from the start all the way through the end of his life, aiming to provide a realistic football experience that could help teach people from all walks of life about the nuances of the sport.
Even though he's considered "an old guy" in the locker room at 31 years old, Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner first learned of Madden through the video game, which he used to play with his brother growing up in California. He recalled playing with Falcons dual threat quarterback Michael Vick on Madden 2004, citing him as the most unstoppable virtual player in the series' history.
“That's kind of how I knew him," Wagner said of Madden. "It's very similar to like a lot of the guys growing up and they hear about Michael Jordan, they just think shoes, which is crazy enough like people like us who watched Jordan play more, watch highlights, to think that these younger generations only see him as the guy that makes really cool sneakers. I think same thing, but you see the impact he had. You see the energy they had whether it was a coach or commentator, and like I said, the video game. He's had a huge impact on the game, literally, and he's going to be missed for sure.”
While quarterback Russell Wilson pointed out Madden's coaching prowess and broadcasting career looking back at his remarkable life, he also made his first connection with the legend through the video game. Though he admitted he used to throw the controller in frustration from time to time due to his competitive nature, he enjoyed playing as other players and visualizing he was in the game.
Like Wagner, Wilson enjoyed playing the 2004 installment with Vick, whose 99 speed rating made him impossible to stop when he escaped the pocket. But there are other editions of the game that he remembers fondly as well.
“That’s definitely a good one, its’ definitely top one or two for sure. That one for sure, I played that when I was in ninth grade or something like that," Wilson said. "I would also say coming into the NFL, my first year in the NFL, knowing that you’re on Madden is a dream come true. Then obviously when DK [Metcalf] brought me the 99-club necklace was pretty cool. Those three moments were pretty cool to look back on and to know that.”
As evidenced by the responses from Carroll, Norton, Wilson, and Wagner, Madden touched countless lives in a myriad of ways. One of the central architects behind the NFL's emergence as the most lucrative professional sports league in the world, his reach went well beyond the coaches and players on the field on Sundays and his death leaves an irreplaceable void for everyone who loves and appreciates the game of football.
