Hall Of Fame Coach, Broadcast Icon John Madden Passes Away At 85

John Madden (Photo: Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com)

FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME coach and broadcasting icon JOHN MADDEN died unexpectedly yesterday morning, the NFL announced, at the age of 85.

NFL commissioner ROGER GOODELL released the following statement, "On behalf of the entire NFL family, we extend our condolences to VIRGINIA, MIKE, JOE and their families. 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 was 32 years old when then-RAIDERS owner AL DAVIS hired him to coach OAKLAND in 1969. Before leaving the sideline for the announcing booth in 1978, Madden led OAKLAND to a 103-32-7 regular-season record and a victory in the 1977 SUPER BOWL.

MADDEN was enshrined into the PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME in 2006, 28 years after coaching his final game.

MADDEN gained even more fame as an analyst on NFL telecasts and for the football video game that bears his name -- EA SPORTS' "MADDEN NFL." A documentary on MADDEN aired on FOX SPORTS on CHRISTMAS DAY, which he watched before he died.

MADDEN made daily appearances on News KCBS-A/SAN FRANCISCO in 1997-2015 and later resumed the appearances on a less-frequent schedule, with the later segments also distributed as a podcast. He previously appeared on KYA-A, KSFO-A, and KNBR-A.

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