Daryl Peter "Moose" Johnston (born February 10, 1966) is an American former professionalfootball player (running back/fullback) who is currently the executive vice president of football operations for theUFL. He playedcollege football atSyracuse University. He was the general manager of theSan Antonio Commanders of theAlliance of American Football (AAF) in 2019, the director of player personnel for theDallas Renegades in 2020, and served as the executive vice president of football operations for the revived incarnation of the USFL for itsinaugural season.

Daryl Johnston

Johnston in 2022
United Football League
Position:	Executive vice president of football operations
Personal information
Born:	(1966-02-10)February 10, 1966 (age 59) Youngstown, New York, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	242 lb (110 kg)
Career information
High school:	Lewiston-Porter(Youngstown, New York)
College:	Syracuse (1984–1988)
NFL draft:	1989: 2nd round, 39th pick
Career history
As a player:
Dallas Cowboys (1989–1999)
As a staff member / executive:
San Antonio Commanders (2019) General manager Dallas Renegades (2020) Director of player personnel United States Football League (2022) Executive vice president of football operations United States Football League (2023) President United Football League (2024–present) Executive vice president of football operations
Career highlights and awards
3×Super Bowl champion (XXVII,XXVIII,XXX) 2×Pro Bowl (1993,1994) All-American (1988) First-team All-East (1988)
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards: 753 Average: 3.2 Touchdowns: 22 Receiving yards: 2,227 Stats atPro Football Reference

Johnston was named Western New York Player of the Year in 1983, while playing forLewiston-Porter High School (locally known as Lew-Port) inLewiston, New York. The Lancers won the division during his senior year in 1984. His Lew-Port jersey (number 34) was retired on September 1, 2006. In 2008, he was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.^[1]

Johnston attendedSyracuse University. As aredshirted freshman, he started playing onspecial teams and would earn the startingfullback position by his sophomore season in 1986.

While playing for Syracuse, Johnston was anAll-Big East selection in 1987 and anAll-American in 1988. He rushed for 1,830 yards and caught 46 passes during his collegiate career. He once gained 138 yards rushing, the most by a Syracuserunning back sinceLarry Csonka rushed for 154 yards in 1967.

He graduated with a degree in economics.

Johnston wasselected by theDallas Cowboys in the second round (39th overall) of the1989 NFL draft.^[2] As a rookie, he received his nickname "Moose" from backup quarterbackBabe Laufenberg because of his large stature compared to the rest of the running backs.^[3] The name caught on among Dallas fans who would chant "Moooooose" whenever he made a play.

As a Cowboy, Johnston played in 149 consecutive games from1989-1997. He also became one of the greatestspecial teams players in franchise history.

He scored 22 careertouchdowns and had more receptions than carries. His 294 receptions is the third-highest number among Cowboysrunning backs, totaling 2,227 yards for a 7.6 yards average, compared to 232 carries for 753 yards for a 3.2 yards average. In1993 Johnston had 50 receptions and averaged 7.4 yards per catch.

Due mainly to Johnston's contributions, theNFL created thefullback position in thePro Bowl.^[4] Prior to this change, blocking fullbacks had little chance of beating out traditionalrunning backs, who had better statistics. Johnston was selected to the Pro Bowl in1993 and1994.

Johnston retired at the end of the1999 season, after suffering a neck injury in 1997. He was a member of threeSuper Bowl winning teams.^[5]

Johnston was considered one of the greatest fullbacks of his day,^{[citation needed]} while blocking forEmmitt Smith, as Smith went on to become the all-timeNFL rushing leader. However, Johnston was not the lead blocker for Smith's entire career. A neck injury prematurely ended Johnston's career. Johnston was present the day Smith broke the rushing record; he was in the broadcasting booth, but came down onto the field to hug Smith and congratulate him afterward. As Smith made his victory lap ofTexas Stadium after the record-setting carry, Johnston hung back in the shadows. When Smith saw Johnston, the two joined in an emotional embrace, with Smith telling Johnston, "I couldn't have done it without you." Johnston replied, "It was my pleasure. I couldn't imagine doing it for anybody else."^[6]

In 2010, Johnston was in the audience for Emmitt Smith's induction into thePro Football Hall of Fame. During his acceptance speech, a visibly emotional Smith spoke directly to Johnston, calling out the fact that, as a fullback, he had sacrificed himself for so many years to block for Smith. "Without you", Smith said, "I know that today would not have been possible."^[7]

In 2003, Johnston joined the program Players Inc Radio when it moved toFox Sports Radio. The program was sponsored byNFL Players Inc.^[8] Since 2013, Johnston has worked as acolor commentator alongsideKenny Albert and formerlyDick Stockton. Previously, Johnston was on the second broadcast team with Stockton from 2001 to 2006 and Albert from 2007 to 2013. He also worked withTony "Goose" Siragusa, until Siragusa's firing from the network following the 2015 season. In 2000, Johnston got his start calling NFL games by working the regular season and doing the High Definition broadcast ofSuper Bowl XXXV withKevin Harlan forCBS Sports. He was an analyst for theNFL Network's "Total Access" until 2012. Johnston also began calling the collegiateCotton Bowl Classic game for Fox in 2009, first withPat Summerall, and then eventuallyKenny Albert. He also was a guest star of thePBS television seriesWishbone in its episode "Moonbone". He appears as a regular guest on First Things First on FS1 (2017/2018) withCris Carter, Nick Wright, andJenna Wolfe. In 2017, he continued his esteemed broadcasting career withNFL on FOX, teamed withChris Myers andLaura Okmin. In 2020, he became paired withKevin Burkhardt andPam Oliver.^[9] He was paired withJoe Davis andPam Oliver as the number 2 crew withFOX, but, for 2024, withTom Brady’s arrival at FOX, he was demoted to the #5 team alongsideKevin Kugler.

In 2018, Johnston became the General Manager of theSan Antonio Commanders of theAlliance of American Football.^[10]

On May 15, 2019, he was named Director of Player Personnel for theDallas Renegades of the newXFL.^[11]

On November 17, 2021, he was named Executive Vice President of Football Operations.^[12]

On April 6, 2023, he was named the President of Football Operations for the second season of the newest incarnation of theUSFL, succeeding league co-founder Brian Woods.^[13] With the USFL and XFL's merger to form theUnited Football League in 2024, Johnston returned to the title of Executive Vice President of Football Operations, serving alongside XFL/UFL president (and fellow Western New Yorker)Russ Brandon.^[14]

A native ofYoungstown, New York, Johnston now resides inDallas, Texas with his wife Diane, son Aidan, and daughter Evan.

• Dallas Cowboys Top 50 players
• Daryl Johnston atIMDb