During the early 1960s, John Madden was a defensive assistant coach at San Diego State University under SDSU head coach Don Coryell. Madden credited Coryell as being an influence on his coaching. In 1967, Madden was hired by Al Davis as the Raiders linebacker coach. On February 4, 1969, after the departure of John Rauch, Madden was named the Raiders sixth head coach. Under Madden, the 1969 Raiders won the AFL West Division title for the third consecutive year with a 12–1–1 record. On December 20, 1969, the Raiders defeated the Oilers 56–7 in the AFL Division playoff game. In the AFL Championship game on January 4, 1970, the Raiders were defeated by Hank Stram's Kansas City Chiefs 17–7.