Jimmy Johnson
James William "Jimmy" Johnson
(born July 16, 1943) is an American former NCAA and National Football League head coach. As of 2010, he is currently an analyst for Fox NFL Sunday, the Fox network's NFL pregame show. He was the first football coach whose teams won both an NCAA Division 1A National Championship and a Super Bowl. In 1993, Johnson wrote Turning The Thing Around: My Life in Football (ghostwritten by Ed Hinton). Johnson as of 2010 lives in Islamorada in the Florida Keys.
Born in Port Arthur, Texas, Johnson graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School (renamed Memorial High School) in Port Arthur, where one of his classmates was singer Janis Joplin.
He went to college at the University of Arkansas and was a member of the 1964 National Championship football team, where he was an all-SWC defensive lineman for Hall of Fame coach Frank Broyles, and a teammate of future Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Other teammates were Ken Hatfield, Jim Lindsey, Ronnie Caveness and Loyd Phillips. Several future head coaches were assistant coaches for Frank Broyles and the Razorbacks during Johnson's career in Fayetteville: Hayden Fry, Johnny Majors and Barry Switzer. Johnson was nicknamed "Jimmy Jumpup" because he never stayed down on the ground for long during football practices or games as it was said his determination was boundless.
Johnson's coaching tree includes a number of future head coaches such as Butch Davis, Norv Turner, Tommy Tuberville, Dave Campo and Dave Wannstedt. Johnson is one of only two head coaches to win both a college football national championship and a Super Bowl. The other is Barry Switzer, who also played college football at Arkansas (prior to Johnson), and was a rival head coach during their college coaching careers. Switzer was Johnson's successor as head coach of the Cowboys.
Dallas Cowboys
In 1989, Jerry Jones, the new owner of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, a long-time friend and former University of Arkansas teammate of Johnson's, asked him to be the new head coach, replacing Tom Landry, who had coached the team since its beginning in 1960. Johnson was reunited with former Miami standout Michael Irvin, and in Johnson's first season as coach, the 1989 Cowboys went 1–15. Johnson, however, did not take long to develop the Cowboys into a championship-quality team. Johnson had an ability to find talent in the draft, make savvy trades (namely, the trade of Herschel Walker, which yielded six high draft picks and a number of players from the Minnesota Vikings), and by signing quality players as free agents in the age before the NFL had imposed a salary cap, such as Jay Novacek.
Johnson served as head coach of the Cowboys from 1989 through 1993. He is one of only six men in NFL history—(including Vince Lombardi, Don Shula, Chuck Noll, Mike Shanahan, and Bill Belichick)—to coach consecutive Super Bowl winners, winning Super Bowl XXVII in 1992 and Super Bowl XXVIII in 1993. Although no head coach has won three consecutive Super Bowls, only one head coach has led his teams to three consecutive NFL championships on the field (Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers 1965–1967). Johnson led the Cowboys to a record of 10-1 in the regular season during the month of Dec. from 1991–1993, also leading to a playoff record of 7-1 in those years. Johnson also had a record of 24-1 when Running Back Emmitt Smith ran for 100+ yards in a regular season game, and 5-0 in the post season, setting the culture for winning and keeping the lead in those years from 1990-1993 winning 2 Super Bowls. Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones mutually agreed to split due largely to their inability to work together. After Lombardi retired from coaching the Packers, Shula, Noll (twice), Shanahan, and Belichick all tried and failed to pull off the "three-peat".
Jones then hired another former teammate at Arkansas, former University of Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer and the Cowboys won Super Bowl XXX two seasons after Johnson's departure. Notable members on the team included Johnson holdovers, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, and Super Bowl XXX MVP Larry Brown. Although Johnson still received a significant amount of credit for that third Super Bowl victory, 33 of his players from the 1993 Super Bowl team were not on the roster in 1995, including 30% of the starting line-ups.
(born July 16, 1943) is an American former NCAA and National Football League head coach. As of 2010, he is currently an analyst for Fox NFL Sunday, the Fox network's NFL pregame show. He was the first football coach whose teams won both an NCAA Division 1A National Championship and a Super Bowl. In 1993, Johnson wrote Turning The Thing Around: My Life in Football (ghostwritten by Ed Hinton). Johnson as of 2010 lives in Islamorada in the Florida Keys.
Born in Port Arthur, Texas, Johnson graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School (renamed Memorial High School) in Port Arthur, where one of his classmates was singer Janis Joplin.
He went to college at the University of Arkansas and was a member of the 1964 National Championship football team, where he was an all-SWC defensive lineman for Hall of Fame coach Frank Broyles, and a teammate of future Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Other teammates were Ken Hatfield, Jim Lindsey, Ronnie Caveness and Loyd Phillips. Several future head coaches were assistant coaches for Frank Broyles and the Razorbacks during Johnson's career in Fayetteville: Hayden Fry, Johnny Majors and Barry Switzer. Johnson was nicknamed "Jimmy Jumpup" because he never stayed down on the ground for long during football practices or games as it was said his determination was boundless.
Johnson's coaching tree includes a number of future head coaches such as Butch Davis, Norv Turner, Tommy Tuberville, Dave Campo and Dave Wannstedt. Johnson is one of only two head coaches to win both a college football national championship and a Super Bowl. The other is Barry Switzer, who also played college football at Arkansas (prior to Johnson), and was a rival head coach during their college coaching careers. Switzer was Johnson's successor as head coach of the Cowboys.
Dallas Cowboys
In 1989, Jerry Jones, the new owner of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, a long-time friend and former University of Arkansas teammate of Johnson's, asked him to be the new head coach, replacing Tom Landry, who had coached the team since its beginning in 1960. Johnson was reunited with former Miami standout Michael Irvin, and in Johnson's first season as coach, the 1989 Cowboys went 1–15. Johnson, however, did not take long to develop the Cowboys into a championship-quality team. Johnson had an ability to find talent in the draft, make savvy trades (namely, the trade of Herschel Walker, which yielded six high draft picks and a number of players from the Minnesota Vikings), and by signing quality players as free agents in the age before the NFL had imposed a salary cap, such as Jay Novacek.
Johnson served as head coach of the Cowboys from 1989 through 1993. He is one of only six men in NFL history—(including Vince Lombardi, Don Shula, Chuck Noll, Mike Shanahan, and Bill Belichick)—to coach consecutive Super Bowl winners, winning Super Bowl XXVII in 1992 and Super Bowl XXVIII in 1993. Although no head coach has won three consecutive Super Bowls, only one head coach has led his teams to three consecutive NFL championships on the field (Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers 1965–1967). Johnson led the Cowboys to a record of 10-1 in the regular season during the month of Dec. from 1991–1993, also leading to a playoff record of 7-1 in those years. Johnson also had a record of 24-1 when Running Back Emmitt Smith ran for 100+ yards in a regular season game, and 5-0 in the post season, setting the culture for winning and keeping the lead in those years from 1990-1993 winning 2 Super Bowls. Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones mutually agreed to split due largely to their inability to work together. After Lombardi retired from coaching the Packers, Shula, Noll (twice), Shanahan, and Belichick all tried and failed to pull off the "three-peat".
Jones then hired another former teammate at Arkansas, former University of Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer and the Cowboys won Super Bowl XXX two seasons after Johnson's departure. Notable members on the team included Johnson holdovers, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, and Super Bowl XXX MVP Larry Brown. Although Johnson still received a significant amount of credit for that third Super Bowl victory, 33 of his players from the 1993 Super Bowl team were not on the roster in 1995, including 30% of the starting line-ups.