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John Madden A Fixture At NFL Owners' Meetings

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By IRA KAUFMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 25, 2009

DANA POINT, Calif. - John Madden is walking around a luxury resort here, searching for ghosts.

The NBC analyst and Hall of Fame coach has been a fixture at the NFL's annual owners' meetings every March, enjoying the banter with club executives and league officials.

Madden has a special bond with current head coaches who often seek him out for advice in the hallways and corridors.

"It's a strange time with guys like Jon Gruden, Tony Dungy, Mike Shanahan and Mike Holmgren not at these meetings,'' Madden said. "I expect them all to be back in the league soon, except for Tony, who announced his retirement. I think Jon Gruden is a very good coach. I've been impressed with him from the time he was an offensive coordinator in Philadelphia. Then he went to Oakland as a head coach and brought that program up before winning a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers. You wonder what went wrong for Jon in Tampa, how something like that could have happened. But he's young enough that I'm sure he'll bounce back.''

Madden was asked for this thoughts on the 2009 Bucs, who have made big changes coming off consecutive 9-7 seasons.

"The Buc collapse last year surprised me,'' he said. "The two teams that surprised me in December were Tampa Bay and Denver. But for every Tampa that collapses, there's an Arizona that becomes a different team at some point in the season and ends up in the Super Bowl. That's today's football. No one thought Arizona would end up in the Super Bowl, but these days, every team is different from year to year. You're not allowed to rebuild anymore. With free agency, by the time you rebuild, those guys are free agents again and they're gone. The rebuilding days are over. It's what are you going to do now? This year.''

Madden was saddened to see Tampa Bay's veteran purge last month that included the release of perennial Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Brooks.

"I've seen it happen in other places, but it still shocks me,'' Madden said. "There are certain guys who are considered the heart and soul of a particular franchise and Derrick Brooks is one of those guys. You don't expect guys like that to ever leave. (Hall of Fame coach) Bill Walsh always used to say that you had to get rid of guys a year or two before they're done -- and I understand that philosophy. But I have to admit I was one of those coaches who would wait a year too long in making those tough decisions. That's just the way I was when it came to veteran players.''

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