The Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones announced that former head coach Jimmy Johnson to the Ring of Honor during the team's Dec. 30 game against the Detroit Lions.
FOX Sports: NFL @NFLonFOXJimmy Johnson talks with <a href="">@dallascowboys</a> owner Jerry Jones!<br><br>📺: FOX <a href="">
Jane Slater @SlaterNFLabout time! how bout them Cowboys! <a href="">
"Jimmy, for me, was always—after he left the Cowboys and enjoyed the kind of success that we had with his involvement in the early '90s, he was always there for the Ring of Honor," Jones said Tuesday on Shan & RJ on Audacy's 105.3 The Fan. "Now, he only coached here five years which makes it all that much more exceptional. Tom Landry was here [for] 29 years, he's the only other coach in the Ring of Honor. And I think it's particularly special."
Johnson, 80, spent five seasons as the head coach of the Cowboys, compiling a 44-36 record, three playoff berths and back-to-back Super Bowl titles in the 1992-93 seasons.
Johnson, who was hired ahead of the 1989 season, took over a team that had gone 3-13 the year prior to his addition and went 1-15 in his first season.
He helped orchestrate several vital moves for the rebuilding Cowboys, including the draft selections of Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman and the trade of running back Herschel Walker for a mountain of players and draft picks, with the latter eventually turning into talents like Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith and Darren Woodson.
But Johnson and Jones eventually butted heads over who would have control over football matters within the organization. When Johnson first took the gig, he had that authority, but Jones eventually wanted more control and the head coach bristled at the suggestion.
Jones would eventually tell reporters that any coach could have led the Cowboys to their second title given the talent on the roster. Not long after, the pair chose to mutually part ways, and those lingering tensions have kept Johnson out of the team's Ring of Honor since.
Jon Machota @jonmachotaJerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson on why this was the right time to put Jimmy in the Cowboys Ring of Honor <a href="">
Other members of the Ring of Honor include Bob Hayes, Bob Lilly, Charles Haley, Chuck Howley, Cliff Harris, Woodson, Don Meredith, Don Perkins, Drew Pearson, Smith, Gil Brandt, Larry Allen, Lee Roy Jordan, Mel Renfro, Michael Irvin, Randy White, Rayfield Wright, Roger Staubach, Tex Schramm, Tom Landry, Tony Dorsett and Aikman.
Neither had the same level of success apart as they had together. Johnson would go on to coach the Miami Dolphins between the 1996-99 seasons, putting together a 36-28 record with three playoff berths but no championships.
Brad Townsend @townbradCurse of the Bambino. Curse of the Billy Goat. Whatever curse the Rangers were under (Nelson Cruz?). Now, perhaps, the Curse of Jimmy Johnson has been lifted.
Jones' Cowboys have won exactly one Super Bowl since Johnson's ouster under Barry Switzer in 1995. Before Johnson, the only head coach in Cowboys history had been the legendary Landry (whom Jones fired upon buying the Cowboys in 1989). Since Johnson, the team has gone through seven head coaches.
