Behind the Scenes with the FOX NFL Crew: A Thanksgiving Tribute to John Madden

By Richie Zyontz
FOX NFL lead producer

Editor’s note: Richie Zyontz has been an NFL producer for FOX since 1994 and is in his 23rd season as lead producer. He has more than 40 years of experience in the league and has produced seven Super Bowls. Throughout the 2024 NFL season, he’ll provide insight into the journey of FOX’s new No. 1 NFL team, including NFL legend Tom Brady, toward Super Bowl LIX. Read more behind-the-scenes stories from Richie Zyontz here.

The NFL is now dedicating Thanksgiving to the memory of John Madden, and rightly so.

After all, Thanksgiving was the day he loved most, and who better represented the league as a Super Bowl-winning coach, legendary broadcaster, and energetic ambassador than Madden?

All three games on Thursday, including our New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys broadcast (4:30 p.m. ET on FOX), will feature on-field signage, commemorative coins, trophies and video vignettes celebrating Madden’s career. It will be a wonderful and touching day of honor.

But for those of us who knew and loved him – and that’s a very large group that includes every network at every level – every day is John Madden Day. And while many others could write this tribute, as his buddy of 40 years, I feel particularly qualified to do so.

An awkward start to a long-standing friendship

My first meeting with John didn’t go so well.

My starting job at CBS was making sure the people at the top of the food chain had all the amenities they needed on a given weekend. Things went terribly wrong in a 1982 preseason game in San Diego. Unbeknownst to me, Madden had been assigned a hotel room on the 19th floor with two twin beds. Now we all know that even a king-sized bed was probably pretty comfortable for him and his fear of heights and claustrophobia couldn’t be alleviated by a penthouse room.

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So Madden called me down to meet him for breakfast – or so I thought. There, buried behind a newspaper, with an unlit cigar hanging from his narrow mouth, lay the big man himself. Just as I was settling down for some eggs and About to let Speck in, he dropped the newspaper, looked at me and said, “Low floor, big bed.”

That was it.

The newspaper came out and my breakfast went out. The conversation was over. And that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

The author’s friendship with John Madden did not have a smooth beginning. (Photo courtesy of Richie Zyontz)

A big laugh and a heart to match

My comeback from that moment began shortly thereafter, when the Maddens bought an apartment in the Dakota, an elegant old building on the west side of Manhattan near Central Park. As a native New Yorker, I became one of his guides to local customs and delicacies. We helped introduce the newbie to the world of kosher delis, egg creams, pizza by the slice, and the art of jaywalking.

Walking with John along Columbus Avenue often led to surprising encounters. One day a long conversation on a park bench with a homeless man and the next a conversation about the New York Giants with Richard Nixon. Madden had time for everyone. And boy, could he laugh!

The sound of Madden’s roaring laugh could strip paint from a wall and scare away every pigeon and squirrel within earshot. Making him laugh was truly one of the joys of life – but never try to cheat on him. He had first-class antennae to eliminate pretense and complacency. It was all part of the DNA that made him so unique.

One skill you’d never associate with Madden is matchmaking – and yet he was the one who introduced me to my wife, June. He and his wife Virginia made their home available for the wedding and John served as my best man. This is a natural hat trick of extraordinary circumstances that is almost unimaginable! Not to mention, he had a game room with pinball machines, which really helped calm my pre-ceremony nerves.

John Madden made his home in Danville, California available for the author’s wedding, where a pinball machine before the ceremony helped calm nerves. (Photo courtesy of Richie Zyontz)

Toward the end of his life, I visited John near his home in Pleasanton, California. By this time he had lost his hearing and needed a walker to get around.

In the 40 years of our friendship, he seemed indestructible. He was always healthy and strong, so it was difficult to see him fight. But while his body grew weaker, his mind was still as sharp as ever.

As I helped him to his truck and walked back to my car, his voice echoed across the parking lot.

“Richie, come here!”

I sprinted the 50 meters back toward him, horrified that something might be wrong.

“Thank you for coming,” he said, expressing his thoughts simply as always.

That was the last time I saw him.

John Madden touched many lives throughout his long career, including this FOX Sports team. From left: producer Bob Stenner, analyst Troy Aikman, John Madden, producer Richie Zyontz, director Rich Russo. (Photo courtesy of Richie Zyontz)

A legendary coach, presenter and friend

As everyone settles down to watch football on Thursday, our television screens will light up with tributes to a legend. We will all have the pleasure of looking back and remembering John Madden the coach and John Madden the host.

But to me and to so many others whose lives he touched, John Madden will always be the friend we treasure most.

Richie Zyontz has been an NFL producer for FOX since 1994 and is in his 23rd season as lead producer. He has more than 40 years of experience in NFL reporting.

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