Hall of Fame coach and broadcasting icon John Madden has died at the age of 85. The NFL says Madden died unexpectedly.
"On behalf of the entire NFL family, we extend our condolences to Virginia, Mike, Joe and their families," says NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, referring to Madden's wife and two sons.
"We all know him as the Hall of Fame coach of the Oakland Raiders and broadcaster who worked for every major network, but more than anything, he was a devoted husband, father and grandfather.
"Nobody loved football more than Coach. He was football. He was an incredible sounding board to me and so many others. There will never be another John Madden, and we will forever be indebted to him for all he did to make football and the NFL what it is today."
Madden won Super Bowl XI with the then-Oakland Raiders when they rolled through the 1976 regular season with a 13-1 record. The team won three postseason games, including a convincing 32-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the Super Bowl.
Madden went 103-32-7 in 10 seasons as Raiders coach from 1969-78.
He became a television analyst the following season and won 16 Emmy awards during a 30-year career. Madden had stints at CBS (1979-93), Fox (1994-2001), ABC (2002-05) and NBC (2006-08).
Madden was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
Madden also was heavily involved in the Madden football video games, published by EA Sports since 1988.
The NFL said it will announce memorial service information when it is available.
Reuters
