John Madden, the most iconic coach in professional football history, has been a household name since he retired in 2005. However, few know that before his coaching career even began, he had already taken on one of the toughest jobs possible: being an undergraduate student-athlete at University of Southern California (USC). Yet despite having to balance school and sports for over 20 years straight without any breaks whatsoever—Madden still managed to graduate with a degree from USC’s prestigious business administration program. His story is simply amazing; it proves good things can come out of seemingly impossible situations if you put your mind to it.
John Madden was a football player who played in the NFL for 17 seasons. He is known for his coaching and broadcasting career, where he has won six Super Bowls. His college degree perfectly set up his legendary football career. Read more in detail here: john madden age.
Few people in professional football history have had greater success than John Madden. The Oakland Raiders’ innovative head coach favored a physical style of play, which helped him win two Super Bowls. Madden became the best color commentator of all time after quitting coaching. After that, he assisted in the creation of a video game that became the gold standard in sports gaming.
Madden’s eventual genius was sown when he was still a college student. Let’s look at how Madden’s unexpected college degree paved the way for his renowned football career.
John Madden was one of the best NFL head coaches and commentators of all time, and it’s excellent that his name will live on even in the minds of kids who are too young to remember him.
RIP to a legend. His voice is instant nostalgia. pic.twitter.com/BWta0OMcMW
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) December 29, 2021
Madden graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a bachelor’s and master’s degree, according to California Community Colleges. The offensive lineman had a knee injury while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, which forced him to miss time on the field.
Madden used his time away from the game to study game footage. He and star quarterback Norm Van Brocklin sat down to examine footage and hash it out together. That’s when Madden began interested in the game’s strategic aspects.
Madden studied teaching and developed an interest in the game from a new perspective. “I ended up with a teaching degree, and my passion for football merged with teaching,” he says. It may seem to be an unusual decision, since football and education appear to be diametrically opposed. But, if a football coach isn’t a teacher, what is he?
What should future coaches learn about?
A basic teaching degree may not be enough to obtain a coaching position with the Packers or Patriots if you don’t have the right contacts. The game has evolved significantly since Madden’s time. However, there have never been greater opportunities for intelligent non-football players to learn the fundamentals of coaching. Future coaches often have the following degrees, according to the professional advice website Zippia:
- The science of sports
- Kinesiology is the science of movement (the study of how people move and how that affects our overall health)
- Another subject or area of study connected to sports coaching or teaching
Studying these will not guarantee you a career as a coach. However, it may provide future coaches with a firm foundation in knowing how sports function and their impact on the human body.
Coaches are instructors at their essence, thus other educational degrees, such as Madden’s, might be beneficial. A person’s lack of experience as a professional athlete should not exclude them from becoming a coach. Zac Taylor, Sean McVay, and Kyle Shanahan are just three examples of great coaches in the NFL right now who did not play in the league.
Madden turned his teaching degree into a successful coaching career in the NFL. His career, though, spanned much more than the sidelines.
John Madden’s business accomplishments
During a broadcast with Pat Summerall, John Madden (R) chuckles | Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
John Madden’s name has been linked with numerous areas of football, including coaching, broadcasting, and video games. Madden came to the broadcast booth after his football coaching career, where he reinvented what a color commentator might offer to a game.
The Minnesota native was both a commoner and a thinker. In one minute, he’d provide a detailed analysis of a play before characterizing a tremendous hit with his characteristic “BOOM!” call in the next. His collaboration with Pat Summerall was one of the most successful sportscasting combinations in NFL history.
Madden was also the driving factor behind his Madden NFL video game franchise. What began as a basic football computer game has grown into the most popular sports franchise in video game history. It soon became the sole NFL-licensed video game, with millions of people playing it across the globe.
Madden was worth an estimated $200 million at the time of his death, according to Yahoo Sports. It’s safe to say he turned his teaching degree into a sizable payday.
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