Raiders' John Madden seems pretty happy as Oakland came away with a win 32-14 at the Super Bowl XI game of the Oakland Raiders vs the Minnesota Vikings played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on January 9, 1977. Super Bowl XI - Oakland Raiders vs Minnesota Vikings - January 9, 1977 (AP Photo/NFL Photos)
DOG ASIDE:
Coach John Madden was hired by Al Davis as linebackers coach for the AFL’s Oakland Raiders in 1967…..putting him in the Sid Gillman coaching tree….as he helped the team reach Super Bowl II that season. A year later, after Raiders head coach John Rauch resigned to take the same position with the Buffalo Bills….Madden was named the Raiders’ head coach on February 4, 1969….thus becoming professional football’s youngest head coach at the age of 32. According to former Raiders coach Dennis Allen….John Madden was arguably the best Oakland Raiders coach in the history of the team. Madden’s Raiders reached and lost five AFC title games in seven years….which left the Raiders with the same image that the Dallas Cowboys had previously had—as a team unable to “win the big one.” Despite a 12–1–1 mark in 1969….the team lost 17–7 to the Kansas City Chiefs in the final American Football League championship game. Three years later….what appeared to be a last-minute victory over the Steelers instead became a part of football lore when Franco Harris’ “Immaculate Reception” gave Pittsburgh a 13–7 win. Then, in 1974, after defeating the two-time, and defending Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins in dramatic fashion, the Raiders lost again to the Steelers in the AFC Championship game. In 1975 NFL season…as this 2 part video series shows the viewers….the Raiders went 11–3 and lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game on a frozen field 16–10.
