recognition by the NFL
of John Madden. He's already kind of got it
through the video game,
but that, that doesn't give the NFL and out. I think that makes
it even more urgent that they find a way to create
the proper tribute. It can't be something small.
It's got to be something big. It's got to be named Madden,
and it's got to be permanent. And I mean, the Lombardi trophy
would be perfect. But Not going to take away. I mean little
Barbie trophy. That's it,
you know, but that's it's got to be that iconic whatever they
slap. John Madden's name on has to become something that will
always be that and it'll be a great complement to the fact
that his name is always going to be on the video game.
Well, I you know the some there was some suggestion that
I think I saw on Twitter earlier something maybe that it instead
of calling it an all protein called the all-madden team. And
so you're kind of harkening back to what he used to do with
himself and saying like, hey, these are
all the guys that I thought were the best and they play.
The way that I love to watch play, so that's one thing mean.
Whether it's, you know, the you naming the coach of the year
after him. Although I think you said in the text chain, like
that should be reserved for Bill Belichick. And frankly.
I kind
of agree with you on that
MVP of isn't the John Madden MVP award there. There's is
some sort of way to memorialize him and make it right, you
know, because he really should
have his name somewhere. That means something really
really so much for the
The NFL it could be like the John Madden Super Bowl game as
well or something of that nature. Like I said, it's got
to be big.
I think the idea of calling the All-Pro team, the all-madden
team is perfect, but it's not enough and maybe it's
a combination. Maybe the end of the day, you call the all
protein, the all-madden team
and you call the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The John Madden
Pro Football Hall of Fame, right? I
short of calling
the Super Bowl, the John Madden Super Bowl, which I would be
fine with I could get behind that. I just think that is such
a sacred term for the NFL. They don't want
to do anything to that term.
How I Be fine with calling it The Madden football league,
frankly. I mean National who cares?
Or making the Remake this shield in the image of John
Madden, but I think a combination of something like,
the all-madden team and the John Madden Pro Football Hall
of Fame. You want to give the Hall of Fame, some cash, a
put his name on it, if his family's okay with it. That's
the ultimate permanent honor and he's the guy that coined
the idea that the bus talk to each other tonight and it's his
magical thing. It's a magical place or it's supposed to be.
You want to make it a little more magical you call it. The
John Madden Pro Football Hall of Fame. Fame. That's exactly
what I was going to bring up. You know, what you said in his
speech about the bus, talking to each other
every night. Once the last person locks the door. I think
that that really would be a good honor for a cam. You know,
we've had to have that building down in Canton. Ohio named John
Madden Pro Football Hall of Fame. I think that would be a
fitting tribute.
Another thing that
that isn't widely known about John Madden were aware of his
exploits as a coach, as a broadcaster as the video game
Mogul, but after he retired, from NBC following suit, 43. He
became very active in the push
for player safety. We wrote something about it earlier
today. He was the first chair of the coaches subcommittee, to
the competition committee, which was involved in
recommending rule changes to the competition committee. And
a lot of it came from safety. He was adamant about getting
players who may be concussed
off the field. He was livid at times when there were lapses,
the Case Keenum situation from 2015 when he was playing for
the Rams in Baltimore, and it was clear. He had no business
being
anywhere near the field
that are was John Madden.
John Madden was beside himself over that the year before
the year before Giglio died, the Chargers on a Thursday
night game. Got back in when he shouldn't have been. There was
a quote that that we got from a source
in the middle of all of it. Where Madden's attitude was, if
these people who are responsible for protecting.
These guys can't do it. We got to find different people to do
it because it's too important. Here's some
On Madden from a game in 1993. I think it was a playoff game
in the 1993 season between the Vikings and the Giants. Jim
McMahon
had apparently suffered a concussion. And this was 16
years before the NFL, woke up to concussions. Here's John
Madden with his comments on
how players should be handled
when they suffered head injuries during games
has had a concussion has a concussion. He shouldn't play
anymore. I don't agree with with that. I mean, they always
talk about boxing and boxing. Being archaic, but if a boxer
a fighter gets knocked out, he can't fight for another month
and sometimes in football, we say, oh the guy has a slight
concussion. He'll be right back in. I don't know that I ever
agreed with that.
You know, I wish that that those words would have been
heated a little more strongly that was about the same time.
It was the next year that the
mild traumatic brain injury committee was formed, and
there's reporting. There's
Textual evidence to back up the idea that the committee spent
a lot of time trying to downplay to delay the Reckoning because
they knew that there were certain risks that were
inherent to the game
that you could not iron
out of the game. And that's what John Madden was trying to
push for ways to reduce unnecessary risks, unnecessary
head trauma
and ensure that when head trauma is suffered
as an unavoidable aspect of the game.
The player is properly protected. It was his idea
along with Ronnie Lott. The Hall of Fame safety to
implement. The medical timeout that empowers officials to say
stop the game. We have to take a look at this player and we
have to get him out of
the action. If there's any chance that he has
a concussion. So and even to the point where John Madden
suggested miles, at one point, that the game may eventually
have to get rid of the three-point stance and go with
the two-point stance, which would fundamentally alter
the way
the game looks. But it would be the offensive linemen just kind
of crouched over a little bit without a hand on the Green.
And the defensive lineman doing the same thing to eliminate
the firing off of the ball, where the heads Collide
and you necessarily have sub-concussive brain trauma.
That doesn't knock a guy out but that over the period of
a career or a season or month is going to potentially accumulate
into something that can cause a problem later in life.
Right? And I think that that is one of the things that, I mean,
I guess I knew that maybe because of how close I am and
following the sport. Port. But I don't know that enough people
really knew how staunch of an advocate Madden was for
players, safety. And it's one of those things where I really
think that people need to know this because if you're talking
about somebody who was a former alignment, somebody who looked
at the game from that perspective, basically from
the inside out and then they're saying hey like
this is maybe something that we need to do. In terms of
eliminating, the three-point stance has just to make sure
that geyser is safe and is protected as Possible that to
me, tells you just how much John Madden had player safety
on his mind
where it's not just, you know, aesthetically like, oh, well,
it's not going to be the same game as it was when I coached,
and that's not great. Like no. No, it's all about player,
safety. And also keeping the game
in a way or guys can continue to play it for not just, you
know, five years or ten years and all the way down the line.
And I think that's something that really, really should be
praised when it comes to John Madden his enough.
Well, Legacy,
and he recognized that there was a clear overlap between
the best interests of the game, and the best interests of those who
play the game. That there's,
there's been a hesitation and
this dates back to the mild traumatic brain injury
committee, a hesitation to fully and completely Embrace
players safety because of what it could do to change the game
to dilute the game
to undermine and reduce interest in the game. And
frankly, when you look back and those games on, Tube that
the hits that were taken were brutal
and they didn't even prompt a reaction
from the announcers. It was just the way the game was
played. Then we have seen an evolution that borders on
revolution of the safety aspects, becoming more and more
prevalent the game and people are still
as interested in the NFL as they've ever been, and we can
try to make it even safer and that's something that John
Madden was trying to do
and that's a fitting way
to honor. His legacy. Let's not just shrug our shoulders and
get complacent that the game is as safe as it's ever going to
be.
There are ways to make it safer in. The NFL has been striving
year after year with the urging of John Madden to make it as
safe as it could be.
I was told that he still
recently
would be constantly getting in touch with the league office
asking for different plays to be fooled. So he pulled. So he
could study aspects of the play looking for different angles
and ideas to make the game safer and he was unpaid.
As an advisor to the NFL for more than a decade. This was
just something that he wanted to do. So he gave so much to
the sport. And I know the sport gave much back to him during
his lifetime, but but now's the time
and and I hope the NFL will do the right thing here. Now is
the time to find the appropriate fitting tribute,
for John Madden that will be as permanent as the Lombardi
trophy as permanent as anything else out there. That bears
someone's name. It needs to be big, it needs to be forever.
And and it's kind of like well, no.
Well no it and it could be naming the Hall of Fame after
him.
Like I said, I'm fine with that.
It could be something else. Maybe they have some other idea
that we are incapable of thinking of and that's entirely
possible. It's a low bar from the idea generation standpoint
at least when I'm involved. So
so I just I hope they'll do it
and I hope it'll be right
and it'll feel like you know, this is this is the the fair
and proper thing to do to ensure that
that he'll be remembered for as long as they play football.
Yeah, I agree. Mike, and I think that they'll figure that
out because I think there are so many people who care about
John Madden and who care about his legacy
and that just, you know, from the coaching standpoint or from
a former player or current player standpoint, but also in
the league office, right? Like the I think everybody has
a really, really good idea of what John Madden means to pro
football.
And so I I do believe that
figure it out and they'll find a really good way to Pay
tribute to somebody who is as much of a legend in this sport
as anyone.
Yeah, it's just so funny. When you think of the different
phases and the different ways and the different styles that
all came through. I think of him as a coach and I never
would have dreamed that
this guy who was kind of
rumpled with long hair and polyester pants and
his credential flying all over the place. They talk about that
in the documentary. I never would have dreamed that he
would be what he was as a broadcaster. And then when he
became this great broadcast, I mean the idea of him ever
linking his name to a video game that would
have been foreign. Like it seems like the last thing he
Would have been interested in and everything. He's done has
been wildly successful and it's one of the Great American lives
of all time
in comparison to anyone else. Politicians presidents captains
of industry. John Madden lived. One of the truly Great American
lives that have ever been lived and
and he will be a constant presence for football fans for
years decades centuries, maybe to