‘He’s going to be missed’: Seahawks reflect on NFL legend John Madden’s death and legacy

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll didn’t consider himself close with John Madden.

But like anybody associated in any way with the NFL, Carroll had a story to tell about the impact the legendary coach, announcer and video game pioneer made on him along the way.

For Carroll, it was a call he got a few years ago from Madden, who died Tuesday at the age of 85.

Madden was an early proponent of player safety in the NFL, and after retiring as a broadcaster in 2009 remained involved in the game as the chair of the league’s Coaches Subcommittee to the Competition Committee.

It was in that role that Carroll one day around 2014 got a call from Madden about a video the Seahawks had produced touting their teaching of a rugby style of tackling – what Carroll calls “Hawk Tackling” – that focuses on leading with the shoulder instead of the head.

“He called me out of nowhere,” Carroll recalled Wednesday. “… He said that (the video) was one of the coolest things he has seen in a long time. He said that getting the head out of football is where the game should go, and he made a big deal about it. I was all charged up by the fact that he called out of nowhere.”

Carroll said that was the only real interaction he had with Madden.

But Carroll, who turned 70 in September, watched closely as Madden influenced the game through all of his careers.

Carroll grew up in the Bay Area and while more of a 49ers fan, also kept tabs on the Raiders during the time Madden coached there from 1969-78, then later watched many Madden-broadcast games.

“His style crossed all lines,” Carroll said. “I’m sure there are a bunch of people that just wanted to watch the game just to see what he was going to say and how he was going to bring some kind of energy to it that made it more fun. It was really always about fun. He was always a guy that was making more fun for everybody. He had a great outlook and an intuition about the game and how it is played, how you should do it, and all that kind of stuff, but most of all he just made it more fun to be part of. I would think that he affected a lot of people, I can’t imagine not.”

Seahawks players mostly knew Madden through his announcing, but maybe even more so through the iconic video games.

“I think he affected (football) in a lot of ways,” said middle linebacker Bobby Wagner. “A lot of ways that maybe I don’t even realize it because even like for myself, I’m considered an older guy here, but a lot of my introduction to Madden was through the video game. That’s kind of how I knew him.

“It’s very similar to like a lot of the guys growing up and they hear about Michael Jordan, they just think shoes, which is crazy enough, like people like us who watched Jordan play more, watch highlights, to think that these younger generations only see him as the guy that makes really cool sneakers. I think same thing (with Madden). But you see the impact he had. You see the energy they had whether it was a coach or commentator, and like I said, the video game. He’s had a huge impact on the game, literally, and he’s going to be missed for sure.”