When legendary NFL analyst John Madden announced he was retiring in April 2009, Dick Ebersol immediately worked on a plan to keep him on the air.
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Ebersol offered a split, half-season schedule to keep Madden on NBC, but longtime broadcaster declined.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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He flew out to Madden’s California home with Sandy Montag, Madden’s agent, armed with a pitch to have Madden work half a season: four early-season games followed by four games sandwiched around Thanksgiving. Cris Collinsworth would have handled the color commentator spot for the other games.
The three talked from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Ebersol thought at one point that he had talked Madden into at least giving it a try.
In the end, Madden turned Ebersol down, a decision he describes today as difficult.
“I did that when I coached. I knew that I coached my last game. I walked away and never looked back,” said Madden, whose last three seasons as a broadcaster were on NBC’s Sunday night games. “When I retired from broadcasting, I knew that I would never do another game. I knew that I was never going to do a part-time game here or a game there. I did it. I enjoyed it. I loved it. I loved every part of it. And then when I retired, it was someone else’s turn to enjoy it.”
