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John Madden was an NFL coach from 1967 to 1978. Before that, he coached at San Diego State. After his coaching career, he worked in the broadcast booth from 1979 to 2008.
So, from 1964 to 2008 – a span of 44 years – John Madden was almost always thinking about football.
Also, over those 44 years, John Madden made countless close friends in the football community.
Which is why, after 44 years, even in retirement, he would spend every Sunday in his office – actually a family-owned production studio in a business park – doing football things until his death in 2021.
“This is where he did business, but every Sunday this was our home,” his son, Joe, told Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times in a story published this week. “This was not an office anymore.”
That, in turn, led to some unusual moments, like when Madden would call his buddy Andy Reid in the middle of NFL games Reid was coaching.
“He’d call Andy in the middle of a game,” John Madden’s widow, Virginia. “I’d say, ‘You can’t do that.’ He’d say, ‘Well, he doesn’t have to answer.’ He might call or text him after a play. He did that a couple of times. Sometimes, Andy would talk to him. Andy was his go-to guy. He really loved Andy.”
Andy Reid wasn’t the only bigwig in the NFL that John Madden would call on game day.
“He’d call Roger [Goodell] during the games on Sunday from here,” his son Mike Madden said from John’s office. “‘Are you watching what’s going on in Cincinnati?’ He wanted to make sure the football didn’t get watered down or changed or altered.”
Mike added, “He volunteered to be Roger’s football guy. He said, ‘You’ve got your business guys. You’ve got your legal guys and your stadium guys. I want to be your guy who makes sure football stays football.'”
We could still use a John Madden.