Daily Madden: NFL Coaching Often Not Good For One's Health
Texans coach Gary Kubiak collapsed at halftime in Sunday night's game against the Colts after reportedly feeling light headed and dizzy. The episode raised concerns about the pressure on coaches during the season.
"Health is your last concern," John Madden told the KCBS Radio morning crew. Kubiak was reported in stable condition at a hospital, with the team only saying Kubiak didn't suffer a heart attack.
"You get so zeroed in, so focused, so tunnel-vision, that you don't know what's going on around you," Madden said. "You're not aware of anything that's going on in the city, in the state, in the nation... You're not aware when you're working late at night what time it is. You're not aware of eating healthy. Things like that aren't even thought about... It's just not a healthy thing."
Madden said there's no easy fix.
"The problem is, you're so competitive, and to be honest, a little superstitious, and you don't want the other guy to get one up on you. You don't want the other guy to out-work you. You don't want the other guy to out-plan you. So in doing so, you really do tend to go overboard...There's nothing mandated for coaches. They can work as along as they want to. They can be in the building 365 days a year. They can be there all day and all night."
The Philadelphia Eagles dominated the Raiders in Oakland Sunday, winning 49-20.
"That was a bad day for the Raiders and the Raiders defense," Madden said. "To me, it started on the first drive... (The Eagles) played fast football. No huddle, just run a play, get right back up to the line of scrimmage and run another play. They took the ball that way right down the field and scored. I thought that caught the Raiders off balance. They didn't look like they were ready for it. They couldn't handle it... I don't think they ever recovered from that first drive." (7:00)
Daily Madden
Listen to the John Madden segment live weekday mornings at 8:15 on KCBS All News 740 AM/106.9 FM. And catch John's extra report at 9:15 am Mondays and Fridays on KCBS during the NFL season.
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