The Raiders certainly have no shortage of legendary figures in the 65-year history of the franchise. Al Davis, the team's larger-than-life owner, became synonymous with making bold moves that bucked the trends of the current AFL or NFL landscapes.
So, before the 1969 AFL season, after coach John Rauch left the Silver and Black to go lead the Buffalo Bills, it was no surprise that Davis took a chance on John Madden. Madden, who had merely been a linebackers coach at the NFL level, became the youngest coach in AFL or NFL history.
Just eight years prior, he was an offensive line coach at a junior college in California, still coping with the fact that injuries may negate any chance he had at a professional football career. Madden realized, however, that he could mesh his love of football and teaching, and the rest is history.
Raiders legend John Madden is the NFL's most underrated coach in history
During his decade at the helm of the Oakland Raiders, Madden never led his team to a losing season. In fact, he was never that close. It wasn't until his final season that the NFL switched to a 16-game format, but still, he won 10 or more games in six of his first nine seasons.
His worst teams had records of 8-4-2 in back-to-back seasons in 1970 and 1971. But he went on to make the playoffs for six consecutive seasons after that, and won at least one postseason game every year from 1973 to 1977.
This included a dominant 32-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI. Overall, he won seven AFC West division championships in just 10 years at the helm, but lost six times in either the AFL or AFC championship games.
Still, he made the playoffs eight times in a single decade, going 9-7 in the postseason and putting together a regular season record of 103-32-7. This means he won 75.9% of the regular season games he coached at the NFL level, which is the best mark in the modern era of professional football.
Madden coached 13 Hall of Fame players, including legendary Raiders like Jim Otto, George Blanda, Willie Brown, Gene Upshaw, Fred Biletnikoff, Art Shell, Ted Hendricks, Dave Casper, Ray Guy, Cliff Branch, and the great Ken Stabler.
He also worked under Hall of Fame front office members like Davis and Ron Wolf, and he also taught eventual Hall of Fame coach Tom Flores the ropes in Oakland before he took over as the head coach in 1979.
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Somehow, however, Madden is still one of the most underrated coaches in NFL history. According to several rankings, Madden is nowhere to be found in the top 10. Athlon Sports has him ranked at No. 14, ESPN slots him in at No. 12, and he missed the cut on CBS's all-time top 10 list.
Madden was incredibly accomplished in a vacuum, but his success should be understood in the context of who he faced off against. The Raiders flourished in one of the golden eras of the NFL, taking on legendary coaches like Tom Landry, Don Shula, Bud Grant and Chuck Noll.
If it hadn't been for an early retirement due to what Madden called an ulcer and occupational burnout, perhaps the Silver and Black would have continued dominating under his tutelage into the 1980s, just as they did under coach Flores.
With a Super Bowl victory under his belt, no losing seasons on his resume, and becoming the youngest coach in league history, as well as the youngest to reach 100 career wins, Madden is a legend in every sense of the word.
Perhaps his taking on a legendary form outside of football helped fans forget just how truly dominant he was on the field. He is not only a mythical figure as the namesake of EA Sports' Madden NFL video games, a legendary broadcaster, a world-class advertiser or cameo appearance star.
Madden is one of the great coaches in the history of professional football, and he should be honored and respected as such.