Madden doesn’t forget his roots

By JOEY JOHNSTON

Tribune Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO – It was the greatest moment of his coaching life. John Madden’s Oakland Raiders had just defeated the Minnesota Vikings 32-14 to win Super Bowl XI after the 1976 season.

The burden finally had been lifted. Now Madden was being hoisted himself, onto the shoulders of his celebrating players. He thrust his right arm toward the sky and grinned broadly.

“Then they dropped me,” Madden said with a laugh.

It’s difficult to top such a moment, but Madden’s life ever since has been one big safety net.

“I think the man has done pretty well for himself,” said Raiders receivers coach Fred Biletnikoff, a Hall of Fame flanker who played most of his career for Madden.

Madden has co-authored a half-dozen books. He became perhaps the best-known broadcaster of NFL football games while working with Pat Summerall on CBS and Fox Sports telecasts. Now he shares the “Monday Night Football” stage with ABC’s Al Michaels. Not to be underestimated, the Madden name has become synonymous with football video games.

So who is he? An author? A hawker of video games? A Hall of Fame coach? A broadcasting icon?

All of the above, really.

And don’t forget this.

“You are what you are … and I’m a Raider,” Madden said during a news conference for ABC, which will broadcast Sunday’s Super Bowl XXXVII game between the Bucs and Raiders at Qualcomm Stadium. “If it wasn’t for Al Davis and the Raiders, who knows where the hell I’d be?

“Now I probably know Tampa Bay’s team better than the Raiders, because I’ve done so many more of their games the last few years. But that place [Oakland] is where I coached. They made me head coach at age 32. That’s my history, my life, my foundation.”

Madden was John Rauch’s assistant coach at Super Bowl II, when the Raiders lost 33-14 to the Green Bay Packers. Back then, he expected the trip would happen every season. But soon he discovered the rarity of that platform.

During his time as head coach, Madden’s Raiders lost six title games. Their only Super Bowl was that victory against the Vikings.

Now the Raiders are in the big game for the first time since 1984, a rout of Washington at Tampa Stadium. Madden said the latest appearance will only add to the legacy of Davis.

“You hear stories about Al Davis being washed up and the game has passed him by,” Madden said. “They were saying that five, six, seven, eight years ago. I don’t know what they’re talking about. I don’t know that anybody ever put a fastball past Al Davis.

“Not much has changed. Al always knew he needed speed. If he couldn’t get a real fast guy, he’d go for a real big guy. Throw it downfield. Attack. That has always been his philosophy, and it has served him well. He doesn’t make many mistakes.”

But Madden pointed to a few. The Raiders sloshed around through mediocre (or worse) seasons under head coaches such as Mike White and Joe Bugel. Finally Davis hired a 35-year-old offensive coordinator named Jon Gruden in 1998 and the Raiders improved from 4-12 to 8-8 in his first year. In Gruden’s third season, the Raiders were in the AFC Championship Game.

After Gruden’s fourth season, he left in the dead of night for Tampa Bay. The so-called Gruden Bowl has been the major theme of this week’s build-up news conferences. As compensation, the Raiders received four draft picks and $8 million.

“I didn’t know a coach was worth all of that,” Madden said. “And I never pictured them making $4 million a season. If I would’ve known that, maybe I would’ve stayed in coaching.

“It’s interesting, because I think Jon Gruden is a big part of both teams’ getting here. The Gruden thing is going to be talked about all week. It’s a story. During the game, it won’t be a story at all. It will be a story again after the game, because you’ll have winners and losers and all of that. I really don’t think Davis is fixated on Gruden. I definitely think he’s fixated on winning the game. That’s all he cares about.”

Madden, who called Gruden “an offensive Bill Belichick … one of those scientist guys who locks himself in the office and goes to work,” said both sides came out fine after the transaction. He credits Davis with a shrewd move in giving contract extensions to all Oakland assistants when Gruden wasn’t going to return. That made the transition to Bill Callahan seamless.

Now Oakland has returned to the Super Bowl.

Now Davis again can crow about what he calls the greatness of the Raid-uhs.

A greatness that essentially began with John Madden, who positioned the franchise for remarkable success. Maybe it’s fitting that Madden will be on hand, calling the game from his press-box booth.

” “Monday Night Football’ is a pretty big stage,” Madden said. “But it still doesn’t compare to being on that field and winning a Super Bowl. You’re in the stadium, but it’s never the same feeling.”