Following the passing of famed coach and commentator John Madden Tuesday, NFL Network is looking back at some of Madden’s most memorable moments on the sideline and in the broadcast booth. To start with, Wednesday will see them show two NFL Greatest Games featuring Madden as the Oakland Raiders’ coach, the 1974 AFC Divisional Round Dolphins-Raiders “Sea of Hands” game (shown above, at 3 p.m. Eastern) and the 1977 AFC Divisional Round Raiders-Colts “Ghost to the Post” game (at 4:30 p.m. Eastern). Then, at 8 p.m. Eastern, they’ll replay 2009’s Super Bowl XLIII, Madden’s final game in the broadcast booth:
Today, @nflnetwork continues to honor the life & legacy of John Madden w/ the following programming —
3p ET — NFL's Greatest Games: "Sea of Hands"
4:30p ET — NFL's Greatest Games: "Ghost to the Post"
8p ET — Super Bowl XLIII (Madden's final broadcast)
— NFL Media (@NFLMedia) December 29, 2021
NFL Network has also received clearance to reair Fox Sports’ All Madden documentary, and they have three airings of that coming up:
PROGRAMMING UPDATE —@nflnetwork will air the documentary 'All Madden' Thursday at 3p ET
'All Madden' will also re-air on @nflnetwork Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 8p & 12:30a ET
— NFL Media (@NFLMedia) December 29, 2021
Madden clearly meant a lot to many people at the NFL and its network, including commissioner Roger Goodell (one of the interviewees in that documentary). Here’s Goodell talking about Madden’s life and legacy on NFLN’s Good Morning Football Wednesday:
"I don't think anybody cared more about the NFL than coach Madden." @nflcommish joined @gmfb to talk about the impact of John Madden and remembering the life of a legendary coach, broadcaster, and person. pic.twitter.com/lDCAvpN8Il
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) December 29, 2021
Goodell’s comments at 0:40 are particularly notable:
“I don’t think too many people could have the impact that John Madden had. He was obviously a Hall of Fame coach, he went on and had an incredible career as an announcer, created the Madden game, which, people look at as an electronic game, but it taught so many people about the game of football. And then he helped really until the week he died, with myself, and our staff, and the competition committee, really looking at every aspect of the game. There really wasn’t a guy who loved football more than John Madden.”
“He was just incredible. When I would call him and ask about a particular play, he knew exactly what I was talking about. He watched every game multiple times and was just an incredible resource. But more importantly, he was just a great friend of football and a great friend of the NFL. I don’t think anyone cared more deeply about the NFL than Coach Madden.”
It’s good to see NFLN saluting Madden this way, as he certainly played a major role in promoting the league and getting it to its current level. And there are a lot of great games to look back at for Madden, both as a coach and as a broadcaster, so it’s neat to see some of those aired Wednesday.
[NFL Media on Twitter; Sea of Hands photo from NFL.com]