John Madden, the ground-breaking and often-imitated second man in the booth, has decided to retire from broadcasting, NBC Sports chair Dick Ebersol announced this morning.
Madden, who lives in
"It's time. I'm 73 years old. My 50th wedding anniversary is this fall. I have two great sons and their families and my five grandchildren are at an age now when they know when I'm home and, more importantly, when I'm not...
"It's been such a great ride... the NFL has been my life for more than 40 years, it has been my passion - it still is. I appreciate all of the people who are and were such an important part of the most enjoyable, most fun anyone could have... that great life with the teams, the players, the coaches, the owners, the League... my broadcasting partners Pat (Summerall) and Al (Michaels) ... the production people and the fans...is still great... it's still fun and that's what it makes it hard and that's why it took me a few months to make a decision.
"I still love every part of it - the travel, the practices, the game film, the games, seeing old friends and meeting new people... but I know this is the right time."
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In two of his previous roles, he was the lead analyst for NFC games. Obviously, throughout the 1980s and through most of the 1990s, Madden was a regular at 49ers games.
After retiring as Raiders coach in 1979, Madden went into the broadcast booth for CBS. He bounced over to Fox from 1994 to 2002. Madden made the transition to ABC's "Monday Night Football" for four seasons before finishing up at NBC. His final game was the Super Bowl.
Obviously, we haven't seen much of Madden for several years. The last regular-season 49ers game he called was a Monday nighter in 2003 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Wow.....wasnt expecting that one. Best of luck John. Little over a week till the draft and getting more excited with each day. Come on niners...dont screw this one up!
Going to miss Madden! He is aN NFL icon.
thank god...he should have retired 10 years ago. madden has clearly lost his touch.
Matt,
Is the early rumor to replace Madden is Cris Collinsworth?
Just wondering.
Thanks!
Many of my friends grew to dislike Madden's style. I always loved the guy. When he called a game you knew it was a big game. Madden and Keith Jackson from college football both had that same special aura about them when you heard them calling a game. I like Collinsworth as well but it won't be the same for awhile.
Thank god!!!! He was the most annoying broadcaster.
ESPN's Mel Kiper said in a conference call with reporters Thursday that he "was told" the 49ers will not draft a quarterback at No. 10.
Kiper refused to name his source, but the San Francisco beat writers expect the Niners to pass on QBs too, even if Matt Stafford or Mark Sanchez falls.
Thank god... bring on the draft already!!!
Madden used to be great, but in the last couple of years he's become a caricature of himself. It's been time to hang 'em up for a while.
God, please no Collinsworth!
Favre retires along with Madden...coincidence?
Profootballtalk reporting that Haralson has signed 4 year, $15 million extension (http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/04/16/haralson-signs-15-million-contract-extension-with-49ers/). Does this suggest that it won't be an OLB at #10?
Woohoo! No Madden or Favre this year. I'M SO EXCITED!
This was kind of a surprise. looks like this year there are alot of hall of famer broadcasters taking their leave of the booth. Madden and Starsky you will be missed by this fan.
WOW! Good call!
dammit....Madden was and is the best.....those other guys are phonies/wannabes
I agree, he was and is the best by a country mile.
"Please, no Collinsworth"? Dude, gotta disagree there. I think he'd be an awesome replacement. Madden was absolutely the best in the '80s and was still damn good in the '90s. He just got older, ya know? I think it's a good time for him to hang 'em up, and I hope he enjoys his time with the family. Now, this got me wondering about #1 color guys in not just football, but other sports as well. They're painfully average. In almost all cases, there are guys that maybe haven't been around as long, but are much, MUCH better. Fox has Aikman and how many guys are better than he is at Fox? CBS has Simms?! Dude is way boring and has zero sense of humor. Niner allegiance aside, Randy Cross does a much better job. And baseball? Joe Morgan and Tim Effing McCarver have #1 jobs? I guess it's a tenured position or something. But getting back to Collinsworth, I think he'd be perfect, I just don't know if Ebersol can resist giving someone else a crapload of cash. Is there anyone else high priced that NBC doesn't have yet?
I became a little sick of hearing Madden after a couple of years. His constant one sided love for the Dallas Cowboys and Brett Farve of the Packers was just too obvious and got to be sickening to me. He pulled for them more than he did his Raiders, and that could have been understood to a certain extent.
He definetly changed how the game was brought to the viewer and also, I believe, brought the wave of coaches and athletes as color men into the media booths.
But there comes a time for ALL things! I wish him luck in the future! He was a decent and good man throughout his carreer! In some sense, it seems a loss to us all!
Although he is/was one of the few TV commentators who knew something about football, he really should have retired years ago.