John Madden died Tuesday at the age of 85.  During the late 1960s and the 1970s, Madden coached a team that has always been either loved or reviled: whether in Oakland, Los Angeles, Oakland (again), or (now) Las Vegas, the Raiders were the "Black Barts" of football, with many NFL fans viewing them as the outlaws their moniker implied.

For those who hate Madden, most of that stems from how good; competitive; resourceful; and, yes, dirty the Raiders were.  It didn't help that Madden was coaching for an owner, Al Davis, whom the league hierarchy, especially its commissioner, Pete Rozelle, loathed.

Yet it was Madden who always seemed to be the center of the storm, never above the fray of the nastiness that the Raiders players exhibited on the field.  His bellowing, complaining ways, and his unique mannerisms, such as constantly parting his hair during his sideline marches, made him a football caricature of a coach.  Think of him as Ralph Kramden with a whistle and a clipboard.

It was kind of nice to see his team and, by extension, Madden defeated in the playoffs every year — except for the 1976–1977 season, when the Raiders, Al Davis, and John Madden finally reached the Promised Land and won their first Super Bowl.  At the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the Raiders scored a convincing triumph over the Minnesota Vikings, the four-time Super Bowl loser from the NFL/NFC.

That was the victory that saw anti-Raiders fans cringe as the Silver and Black, Al Davis, and even Madden could finally metaphorically spit in Pete Rozelle's face, as well as the collective faces of the NFL establishment and Oakland's old AFL rivals, such as Kansas City, Denver, and the New York Jets.

Like most NFL fans, Davis was the "Rebel without a Cause" owner, constantly disrupting and suing the NFL for mistreatment and unfair practices towards his players, teams, and franchise.  Madden was seen as a part of the Criminal Syndicate called the Oakland Raiders football team.

Image: John Madden. YouTube screen grab.

However, unlike Davis, Madden was able to "reform his persona."  His life took an extraordinary turn when he retired from the Raiders and segued to broadcasting the game he used to coach.  As with coaching, in the broadcasting booth, he was a superstar, with a marvelous voice in the booth.

He was charismatic, exuded enthusiasm, and made the game's complexity simple to grasp, all the while mixing football terminology with funny anecdotes, drawings, and colorful vocabulary.  Most fans marveled at his Einstein-level knowledge of the "game within a game," while appreciating his blue-collar, bar-speak language ("snot knockers," "lunch pail player," and "BOOM!"), words that many prim and proper broadcasters would never employ.

The most appealing thing was how Madden would often predict what would happen instead of merely critiquing what had happened.  This changed a broadcast's dynamics.

Ultimately, all these things were why he ended up being beloved, respected, and admired even by the same "Raider haters" who couldn't stand watching him pace the sidelines in his white, short-sleeved shirt, with his tie flailing about as he encouraged his players and berated the officials.  Back then, many hoped he would slip on the wires or run into one of his players as he stomped and whined and cried during Raider games, even when he was up by three touchdowns late in the contest.  (Just as a reminder, he had 56 regular-season wins by 10 or more points.)

Madden had a larger-than-life personality, which allowed him to achieve greatness as a coach, a commentator, and even as a video game character.

I'll end this homage with a little rundown of his core skill, the thing that made him famous: Madden could coach.  He has the highest winning percentage (.759) in NFL history — higher than Bill Belichick (.674), Don Shula (.677), George Halas (.682), Chuck Noll (.566), Tom Landry (.607), and even Vince Lombardi (.738).

Moreover, it's a winning percentage built not just on two or three seasons, but on a decade of winning, with a 103-32-7 mark guiding the Raiders (always in Oakland) to seven division titles. eight postseason appearances, and their first Super Bowl title. 

Like Lombardi, Madden never had a losing season.

Like Lombardi, he had multiple ten-win seasons, actually besting him 6-5.

Like Lombardi, Madden won his first Super Bowl in his first appearance.

Unlike Lombardi, Madden had only one season in which he lost more than four games.

Unlike Lombardi, no trophy is named for his coaching success...although he does have the Thanksgiving Day "Turkey Leg Award," and, somehow, that resonates more for his fans.

He will be missed.

NOTE: Will O'Toole sent American Thinker an update:

"I included Madden's one year in the "AFL' in his overall career record. Taken out, he is NOT the best-winning percent coach in NFL history. Guy Chamberlin is. 

"Chamberlin dominated football with a .783 win percentage during the 1922-27 seasons. He was 28 years old when he started coaching for the Canton Bulldogs. He spent two years in Canton before making short stops in Cleveland, Frankford, and Chicago. Ultimately, Chamberlain won four NFL Championships during his six-year stint as a coach. Chamberlin also racked up two championships in his time as a player."

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.