Jimmy Johnson (American football coach)
James William Johnson (born July 16, 1943) is an American sports analyst and former football coach. Johnson served as a head football coach on the collegiate level from 1979 to 1988 and in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He is the first head football coach to win both a college football national championship and a Super Bowl, achieving the former with University of Miami and the latter with the Dallas Cowboys.
This article is about the American football coach. For other people named Jimmy or Jimmie Johnson, see Jimmy Johnson (disambiguation).Personal information
Johnson held his first head football coaching position at Oklahoma State University from 1979 to 1983. He became Miami's head football coach in 1984 and guided the team to victory in the 1988 Orange Bowl. Following the college championship, Johnson succeeded original Cowboys head coach Tom Landry in 1989, a position that saw him help rebuild the team back to winning form. His tenure from 1989 to 1993 culminated with the Cowboys winning consecutive Super Bowl titles in Super Bowl XXVII and Super Bowl XXVIII. Johnson left Dallas after the second championship amid conflict with owner Jerry Jones.
Following two years away from football, Johnson returned in 1996 to become the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, where he served until retiring after the 1999 season. Since his coaching retirement, Johnson has appeared as an analyst for Fox Sports and is one of the featured commentators of Fox NFL Sunday. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.
Early life[edit]
Johnson attended high school at Thomas Jefferson High School, now Memorial High School, in Port Arthur, Texas. In high school he was a classmate of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Janis Joplin.[1]
Johnson played college football as a defensive lineman at the University of Arkansas between 1962 and 1964. He helped lead the Razorbacks to the national championship in 1964 when he was named to the All Southwest Conference team. Additionally, he was named to the Razorbacks’ All-Decade team of the 1960s, and was later inducted into Arkansas’ state athletic hall of fame in 1988, followed by the university's hall of fame in 1999.
During his time in Arkansas, he played with future Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Coaching career[edit]
Early coaching jobs[edit]
Johnson began as an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech University in 1965. During this time, Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame was the starting quarterback, and Jimmy helped recruit high school quarterback Terry Bradshaw from nearby Shreveport. He then became an assistant coach at Picayune Memorial High School in Picayune, Mississippi, in 1966. In 1967, Johnson was an assistant at Wichita State University, then in 1968 and 1969, he served under Johnny Majors at Iowa State University in Ames. In 1970, Johnson moved on to another Big Eight Conference school, to become a defensive line coach at the University of Oklahoma, working under head coach Chuck Fairbanks and alongside future rivals Barry Switzer and Jim Dickey.
In 1973, Johnson returned to Arkansas, where he served as defensive coordinator through the 1976 season. There, he coached such players as Brison Manor and Dirt Winston. Johnson had hopes of being named head coach when Broyles retired, but was passed over for Lou Holtz. Holtz wanted to retain Johnson on his staff and offered him a position, but Jimmy decided to move on and amicably parted company with his alma mater.
Johnson became assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh under Jackie Sherrill in 1977 and 1978. There, he coached Randy Holloway, David Logan, Al Chesley, J. C. Wilson, Rickey Jackson, Jimbo Covert and Hugh Green, and was introduced to Pitt alumnus and assistant coach Dave Wannstedt, who later teamed up with Johnson again at the University of Miami, Oklahoma State, the Cowboys, and the Dolphins.
Oklahoma State[edit]
In 1979, Jimmy Johnson got his first head coaching job, at Oklahoma State University. Johnson coached for five seasons at Oklahoma State, from 1979 to 1983. His tenure there is noteworthy for his successful rebuilding of an inconsistent program. In his final season, he led the Cowboys to an 8–4 record and a 24–14 victory over 20th-ranked Baylor in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl.
In 1984, when he was offered the head coaching job at the University of Miami, Johnson was unsure if he wanted to leave Stillwater. His good friend Larry Lacewell told Johnson that if he wanted to win a national championship and eventually coach in the NFL, he had to take the Miami job. Johnson soon after accepted the head coaching job at Miami.
Before taking the Miami job, Johnson interviewed for the head coaching job at Arkansas when Lou Holtz left following the 1983 season, then later found out that Ken Hatfield had already been hired. Upset that Frank Broyles (who by this time was the Arkansas athletic director) made no mention of this during the interview, Jimmy distanced himself from his alma mater. As payback for the snub, a home-and-home series was scheduled between Miami and Arkansas. In 1987, Miami gave Arkansas its worst home loss ever at the time, 51–7.
Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction[edit]
Johnson was surprised during a telecast of Fox NFL Sunday by Pro Football Hall of Fame President David Baker on January 12, 2020, announcing that he would be the 328th member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.[24] He personally thanked his coworkers on Fox NFL Sunday, and thanked his players and assistant coaches for their contributions. Following numerous delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson was formally inducted on August 7, 2021.[25]
NFL
NCAA
Media
Halls of Fame
Personal life[edit]
Johnson married Linda Kay Cooper on July 12, 1963,[26] with whom he had two sons. They divorced in January 1990. On July 18, 1999, Johnson married Rhonda Rookmaaker.[27] As of 2010, he lives in Islamorada in the Florida Keys.[28]
Johnson owned Three Rings restaurant in Miami and owns JJ's Big Chill, a bar and grill located in Key Largo, Florida at mile marker 104. Three Rings was named after the three championships Johnson won on collegiate and professional levels as a head coach. He previously owned a second restaurant under the same name in Oklahoma City, but it has closed. Johnson's fishing boat, docked behind his oceanfront home in Islamorada, Florida, is also called Three Rings.
Eleven of Johnson's assistant coaches became NCAA or NFL head coaches:
Two of Johnson's former players have become head coaches in the NFL:
Three of Johnson's former players/coaches became general managers in the NFL: