John was one of the best-known personalities in the history of National Football League, serving first as a coach and later as a successful commentator. Born to an auto mechanic in Austin and raised in Daly City, he grew up playing football with the neighborhood boys, one of whom was would-be football coach John Robinson. Eventually he entered college with a football scholarship; but was quickly redshirted due to a knee injury. Although he later resumed playing and was even drafted by NFL's Philadelphia Eagles he had to quit without appearing any professional match due to another knee injury. Unable to play, he decided to take up coaching, serving as the head coach for Oakland Raiders for 10 years before turning to broadcasting, 12 twelve Emmy Awards for his contributions to the latter field. From 1988, he also lent his name, expertise and commendatory to a series of video games, Madden NFL, which sold more than 130 million copies until 2018.
