Legendary Head Coach and broadcaster John Madden passed away on Tuesday at the age of 85 years old. He made a profound impact on the game of football in many different aspects, and was a role model for many.
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was asked about Madden as well as what it was like to work with him on the NFL coaches committee. Harbaugh went into great detail about the former coach, showing how much Madden meant to him.
“Yes, it was just a blessing. This is … Some might argue the greatest coach, if you think of it a little more globally in terms of what? Maybe a 40-, 50-, 60-year impact on generations of football fans as a coach, a highly successful coach, and then an announcer reaching fans through the medium of football. Nobody ever did it like he did it, in terms of his ability to teach the fans the game on kind of a layman’s style that was entertaining, and then through the Madden game. To circle back the way he did … I know he was always involved with the League, but to circle back the way he did the last few years with the Madden committee and to be involved with all of the kinds of issues, especially the football issues. That’s what he was interested in, the football issues relating to the rules of the game and the way the guys played. Then the mentorship kind of part where you get on the phone with him, or you get a voicemail from him … I saw Bill O’Brien saved his voicemails [from John Madden], I just read that. I did the same; I still have all of his voicemails. You don’t erase a John Madden voicemail. That’s just … You don’t do it, and I never will. I have his text messages, [and] I’m probably going to get them framed. It was kind of a mentor-type deal. A lot of the things that we’ve done, in terms of the way we approach the players, I’ve learned from him. In terms of what’s important, what you pursue and what really doesn’t matter – I kind of try to put that stuff in perspective. He had just a great feel and a great way of expressing that. A great man [and] a beloved guy. Condolences to the Madden family. We all feel like we’re part of the Madden family today. So, great man.”
“It was a blessing.” Coach Harbaugh on working with John Madden: pic.twitter.com/Z9zxF24Jdo
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 29, 2021
Harbaugh clearly learned a lot from Madden and valued the relationship that the two had together. Baltimore’s head coach couldn’t stop gushing about the man that he compared to a mentor, showing the profound impact that the Hall of Famer had on Harbaugh.