02/05/2026
🏈On February 4, 1969 John Madden, at the age of 32, was named the Oakland Raiders' head coach becoming professional football's youngest head coach to that time. Madden was initially hired by Al Davis as linebackers coach for the Raiders in 1967, putting him in the Sid Gillman coaching tree and he helped the Raiders reach Super Bowl II that season. A year later, after Raiders head coach John Rauch resigned to take the same position with the Bills, Davis named Madden head coach. In 1976, the Raiders went 13–1 in the regular season, and escaped the first round of the playoffs with a dramatic and controversial victory over the Patriots. In the second round of the playoffs they defeated the Steelers for the AFC Championship. On January 9, 1977, Madden's Raiders finally captured their first Super Bowl with a convincing 32–14 win over the Vikings. After the Raiders failed to qualify for the postseason in 1978, Madden announced his retirement on January 4, 1979 due to an increasingly deteriorating ulcer condition and occupational burnout. Among Madden's accomplishments as a head coach were winning a Super Bowl, and becoming the youngest coach to reach 100 career regular season victories, a record he compiled in only 10 full seasons of coaching at the age of 42. Madden is still the coach with the most wins in Raiders history with 103 regular season wins and 112 wins adding playoff victories. Madden never had a losing season as a head coach. His overall winning percentage, including playoff games, ranks second in league history. Madden achieved his record during a period that included head coaches Tom Landry, Don Shula, Chuck Noll and Bud Grant, who are generally regarded as the top coaches of that era.🏈
