It’s tough to believe that there could be a single expert football fan from the world who has not heard in the legendary John Madden. He has, above the last half century, come to be as significantly a part in the game as the turf on which the NFL’s teams play. For the Oakland Raiders, Madden’s career like a coach is of specific interest, as it was under his stewardship that the team enjoyed some of its most productive many years. This was, of course, during the team’s glory many years from the 1970s – a decade that saw the franchise win their primary of what would eventually be three Super Bowl titles.

Previous to Madden

For the Raiders, life as a specialist franchise began with the creation from the American Football League in 1960. As one particular with the founding members of the League, the Raiders won 3 division titles and a championship through the decade prior towards AFL’s merger with the National Football League in 1970. Under John Rauch, the group won the AFL title in 1967, and then titles in their Division more than the next two years. During both of those seasons, even so, the team would eventually lose the AFL title game to teams that would become the Super Bowl winners: the Jets and also the Chiefs.

Madden becomes Coach

When John Madden was hired as Head Coach in 1969, there might have been some who wondered what the fuss was all about. After all, he was very best known for his outstanding play in high school and college, since his expert career pretty a lot ended ahead of it started due to a severe injury suffered ahead of his very first season of play. He soon proved himself up to the task of coaching the Raiders, as he was promoted from linebackers coach towards top spot. He became the youngest specialist football coach in history, as he was only 32 many years old at the time.

Coaching the Raiders

In the course of Madden’s tenure as Coach, the Raiders fought their way to five American Football Conference championship games more than the course of a seven year span, but lost all of them. The group perhaps aptly earned a reputation as being incredibly capable of making it to the big games – but then becoming unable to win them once they were there. Madden, even so, remained determined. He knew that the Oakland group had the talent to win those games, but that they just needed to stay focused long enough to make it happen – specifically against the Steelers, who had 3 times knocked the Raiders out on the playoffs.

The 1 that didn’t get away

The 1976 campaign seemed a season of destiny for Madden and his group, as they ran off with a thirteen and a single record, barely beat the Patriots from the playoffs, and then finally got past the dreaded Steelers to win the AFC Championship. Then, in January of 1977, the group soundly defeated the Vikings to win Super Bowl XI. It would be Madden’s finest moment, as he retired two seasons later to become a sports broadcaster.

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