.jpg) Johnson in 2022 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1943-07-16)July 16, 1943 (age 82) Port Arthur, Texas, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school | Thomas Jefferson (Port Arthur, Texas) |
| College | Arkansas |
| NFL draft | 1965: undrafted |
| Career history | |
Coaching | |
| |
Operations | |
| Awards and highlights | |
Playing
Coaching | |
| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season | NFL: 80–64 (.556) NCAA: 78–30–3 (.716) |
| Postseason | NFL: 9–4 (.692) NCAA: 3–4 (.429) |
| Career | NFL: 89–68 (.567) NCAA: 81–34–3 (.699) |
Coaching profile atPro Football Reference  | |
James William Johnson (born July 16, 1943) is an American formerfootball coach and sports analyst. Johnson served as a head football coach in the collegiate level from 1979 to 1988 and in theNational Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He is the first head football coach to win both acollege football national championship and aSuper Bowl, achieving the former with theMiami Hurricanes and the latter with theDallas Cowboys.
Johnson held his first head football coaching position atOklahoma State Cowboys from 1979 to 1983. He became Miami's head football coach in 1984 and guided the team to victory in the1988 Orange Bowl. Following the college championship, Johnson succeeded original Cowboys head coachTom 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 inSuper Bowl XXVII andSuper Bowl XXVIII. Johnson left Dallas after the second championship amid conflict with ownerJerry Jones.
Following two years away from football, Johnson returned in 1996 to become the head coach of theMiami Dolphins, where he served until retiring after the 1999 season. After his coaching retirement, Johnson appeared as an analyst forFox Sports and was one of the featured commentators ofFox NFL Sunday until his retirement following the 2024 season. He was inducted to theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 2012 and thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.
Johnson attended high school at Thomas Jefferson High School, nowMemorial High School, inPort Arthur, Texas. In high school he was a classmate ofRock and Roll Hall of FamerJanis Joplin.[1]
Johnson played college football as a defensive lineman at theUniversity of Arkansas between 1962 and 1964. He helped lead theRazorbacks to the national championship in 1964 when he was named to the All-Southwest Conference team. Additionally, he was named to theRazorbacks’ All-Decade team of the 1960s, and was later inducted intoArkansas’s state athletic hall of fame in 1988, followed by the university's hall of fame in 1999.
During his time inArkansas, he played with futureDallas Cowboys ownerJerry Jones.
Johnson began as an assistant coach atLouisiana Tech University in 1965. During this time,Phil Robertson ofDuck Dynasty fame was the starting quarterback, and Johnson helped recruit high school quarterbackTerry Bradshaw from nearbyShreveport. He then became an assistant coach atPicayune Memorial High School inPicayune, Mississippi, in 1966. In 1967, Johnson was an assistant atWichita State University, then in 1968 and 1969, he served underJohnny Majors atIowa State University inAmes. In 1970, Johnson moved on to anotherBig Eight Conference school, to become a defensive line coach at theUniversity of Oklahoma, working under head coachChuck Fairbanks and alongside future rivalsBarry Switzer andJim Dickey.
In 1973, Johnson returned to Arkansas, where he served asdefensive coordinator through the 1976 season. There, he coached such players asBrison Manor andDirt Winston. Johnson had hopes of being named head coach when Broyles retired, but was passed over forLou 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 theUniversity of Pittsburgh underJackie Sherrill in 1977 and 1978. There, he coachedRandy Holloway,David Logan,Al Chesley,J. C. Wilson,Rickey Jackson,Jimbo Covert, andHugh Green, and was introduced to Pitt alumnus and assistant coachDave Wannstedt, who later teamed up with Johnson again at theUniversity of Miami, Oklahoma State, the Cowboys, and the Dolphins.
In 1979, Johnson got his first head coaching job, atOklahoma State University. Johnson coached theCowboys for five seasons 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-rankedBaylor Bears in theAstro-Bluebonnet Bowl.
In 1984, when he was offered the head coaching job at theUniversity 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 thatKen 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.
In 1984, Johnson was hired by theUniversity of Miami to replace former coachHoward Schnellenberger, who had won Miami's first national championship in 1983 and departed for the recently formedUSFL. Johnson's hiring was met with an initial response of "Jimmy who?" by the fans and media. Johnson started with a shaky 8–5 record his first season, which included a game in which Johnson's Hurricanes blew a 31–0 halftime lead in a loss toMaryland withFrank Reich as its QB, and also included a 47–45 loss toBoston College immortalized byDoug Flutie's "Hail Mary" touchdown pass on the game's final play. But Johnson developed the Hurricanes into a football program that came to be known as "the Decade of Dominance". In his five years at Miami, Johnson compiled a 52–9 record, appeared in five New Year's Day bowl games, winning one national championship (1987) and losing one to thePenn State Nittany Lions (1986).
Johnson created a free-wheeling atmosphere where he allowed, and at times encouraged, his players to showboat, trash-talk, and run up the score. He also brought the modern4–3 defense predicated on athletic upfield linemen to the forefront. The criticism they received from other teams caused the media to deem them the "Bad Boys of College Football", a moniker Johnson openly accepted.
Johnson's Hurricanes posted the school's first undefeated regular season in 1986, only to lose theFiesta Bowl and the national championship to #2-rankedPenn State. The loss, along with losses in Miami's prior two bowl games, began to raise questions about whether Johnson was capable of winning major games. In the ensuing 1987 season, however, the Hurricanes went undefeated in the regular season yet again, and won the school's second national title by defeating Barry Switzer'sOklahoma Sooners for the third season in a row.
Johnson also created controversy by allowing the University of Miami to retireVinny Testaverde's football jersey number #14, but refusing to retireBernie Kosar's number #20, though Kosar played one season for Johnson and led the Hurricanes to the national title (the season before Johnson became head coach). Johnson's reason for not retiring Kosar's number was, "Bernie didn't finish the program here (at Miami)." Kosar graduated with honors, a year ahead of his freshman class in 1985, with a dual major in finance and economics and subsequently entered theNFL's supplemental draft. Testaverde won the school's firstHeisman Trophy award in December 1986 and was the first player selected in the1987 NFL draft. However, as Cowboys' head coach, Johnson later reached out and signed Kosar as a backup QB after Kosar was released by theCleveland Browns during the 1993 NFL season. Kosar played during the Cowboys' Super Bowl run that season while starterTroy Aikman was injured, clinching theNFC Championship game and earning a Super Bowl ring.
Johnson was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1996 and theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 2012.[2]
In 1989,Jerry Jones, the new owner of theNational Football League'sDallas Cowboys, a long-time friend and former University of Arkansas teammate of Johnson's, asked him to become the second head coach in franchise history, replacingTom Landry, who had coached the team since its beginning in 1960. Johnson was reunited with former Miami standoutMichael Irvin, and in Johnson's first season as coach, the1989 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 ofHerschel Walker, which yielded six high draft picks and a number of players from theMinnesota Vikings), and by signing quality players such asJay Novacek as free agents in the age before the NFL had imposed asalary cap.
Johnson served as head coach of the Cowboys from 1989 through 1993. He is one of only seven men in NFL history (includingVince Lombardi,Don Shula,Chuck Noll,Mike Shanahan,Bill Belichick, andAndy Reid) to coach consecutive Super Bowl winners, winningSuper Bowl XXVII in1992 andSuper Bowl XXVIII in1993 (his team beat theBuffalo Bills in both Super Bowls). Johnson led the Cowboys to a record of 10–1 in the regular season during the month of December from 1991 to 1993, also leading to a playoff record of 7–1 in those years. Johnson also had a record of 24–1 when running backEmmitt Smith ran for 100 yards or more in a regular-season game, and 5–0 in the postseason, winning two Super Bowls.
Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones mutually agreed to split due largely to their growing inability to work together. Although Jones had the title of general manager, he had largely delegated control over on-field matters to Johnson. By 1993, however, Jones wanted more authority over the football side of the operation, but Johnson was unwilling to relinquish it. An incident happened in December 1993 when the Cowboys were getting ready to play the Giants for theNFC East title, where Johnson had said he was interested in becoming head coach of the expansionJacksonville Jaguars.[3] This led to Jones telling the media that he alone would decide Johnson's coaching future. In March 1994, after the Cowboys had won their second Super Bowl under Johnson, Jones angered Johnson when he told reporters that any coach could have led the Cowboys to a Super Bowl. They agreed to part ways on March 28, 1994, with Johnson getting a $2 million bonus.
Jones then hired another former Arkansas player, formerOklahoma Sooners head coachBarry Switzer, and the Cowboys wonSuper Bowl XXX two seasons after Johnson's departure. Notable members on the winning team included Johnson holdoversTroy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, and Super Bowl XXX MVPLarry Brown. However, the Cowboys went into decline after Super Bowl XXX and have not reached theNFC Championship Game since then.[4]
Johnson was not included on the Dallas Cowboys"Ring of Honor" for many years. When asked in the summer of 2014 why Johnson was not in the Ring of Honor despite his two Super Bowl victories as coach of the Cowboys, Jones stated: "Disloyalty ... I couldn't handle the disloyalty."[5] The Cowboys Ring of Honor has been viewed as the "gatekeeper to the Pro Football Hall of Fame" for Dallas players, coaches, and executives;[6] despite this snub, it was announced in 2020 that Johnson would be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Johnson and Jones had appeared to patch up their relationship, such as appearing together on the 25th anniversary of the Cowboys'Super Bowl XXVII win and Johnson congratulating Jones on his Hall of Fame induction in 2017.[4] On August 5, 2021, during the 2021 Hall of Fame Game broadcast on Fox, Jones announced that Johnson would be inducted in the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor.[7] The ceremony took place during the Cowboys' matchup against theDetroit Lions on December 30, 2023.
After working as atelevision analyst withFox Sports for two years and briefly flirting with an offer for the head coaching job of thePhiladelphia Eagles in 1994,[8] Johnson joined theMiami Dolphins in 1996, replacing head coachDon Shula, who retired at the end of the 1995 season. After a below-expectations year for the Dolphins in 1995, capped off by a blowout loss in the playoffs versus theBuffalo Bills, there was a groundswell among Dolphins fans who wanted Shula to step aside in favor of Johnson.[9]
Johnson's tenure in Miami did not live up to expectations. Johnson won fewer games in his first season than Shula had in his final season (8–8 vs. 9–7). Johnson's overall winning percentage at Miami was 55.3% vs. 65.8% for Shula.[10]Brian Billick related a story about Johnson in 2019 when each were broadcasters, with the latter stating his advice of how to not go back into coaching unless one had the passion and proper reasons to do so, since plenty of coaches went back without those reasons. As related by Billick of what Johnson said, “I was one of them. I went back for the wrong reasons. If you go back for ego, if you go back for money, it’s the wrong reason."[11]
Johnson inherited one of the NFL's best offenses, led by Hall of Fame quarterbackDan Marino; the defense was considered mediocre, though it was ranked 10th in fewest points allowed in 1995. As a defensive specialist, Johnson expected to put together a championship defense. With complete control over personnel decisions, Johnson and his staff signed several excellent defensive players, drafting future Hall of FamersJason Taylor andZach Thomas, and Pro BowlersSam Madison, andPatrick Surtain. But Johnson's brilliant draft record was blemished by several disappointments, including fifth-round pick running backCecil Collins, and two first-round picks, running backJohn Avery and wide receiverYatil Green. The Dolphins finished 8–8 in 1996 and then 9–7 in 1997, losing to theNew England Patriots in the wild card round. In 1998, the Dolphins finished 10–6 with the league's best defense, defeated the Buffalo Bills in the wild card round, then were crushed 38–3 by theDenver Broncos in the divisional round.
In a 1996 interview, Johnson said he did not feel he could ever reach the stature of Shula or Landry, simply because he did not feel able to stay with the job as long as they had: "26 years or so as a head coach. I don't think I'll make it that long. This is my sixth year as a head coach, and whenever this contract's done, I think I'll probably be done coaching."[12]
In January 1999, Johnson resigned as Dolphins head coach, citing burnout. He reversed his decision in one day, after Marino—with whom Johnson had a strained relationship[13]—pleaded with Johnson to come back. Dolphins ownerWayne Huizenga also hired the recently firedChicago Bears head coachDave Wannstedt, a former assistant under Johnson both at the University of Miami and at Dallas, as defensive coordinator/assistant head coach.
In the face of Super Bowl expectations, the Dolphins won four of their first five games, with the loss to Buffalo onMonday Night Football leaving Johnson to criticize Marino publicly for his play. Marino suffered a bone spur in his back that knocked him out until Thanksgiving, leaving the team in the hands of rookieDamon Huard. By the halfway point, the Dolphins were 7–1, with Huard losing only once as a starter.[14] When Marino returned with the team at 8–2, he threw five interceptions against Dallas in what became a harbinger for the rest of the stretch, which saw Miami lose five of their last six games on their way to a 9–7 record while the relationship between Marino and Johnson saw Johnson described as "vaguely critical" of Marino in public.[15] Due to a loss by Kansas City, Miami made it to the playoffs and facedthe Seattle Seahawks in the wild card round of the playoffs. Playing in Seattle, the Dolphins rallied late 20–17 to win their first road playoff game since 1972. However, in the divisional round, they were crushed in an embarrassing62–7 loss to theJacksonville Jaguars where they trailed by 41 at halftime. Johnson resigned the day after the game and Marino soon thereafter announced his retirement. Johnson was succeeded by Wannstedt.
In a 2021 interview, Johnson revealed that the Dolphins could have traded forPeyton Manning in the1998 NFL draft, theoretically offering theColts their entire draft board in exchange for the first overall pick. Johnson declined to give more details to this trade, with him stating, "I probably gave you too much already."[16] Johnson stated later that one of his biggest disappointments was not having a "healthy Dan Marino", as Marino had ailing knees and a previously torn Achilles to go with a bad shoulder in their final season together.[17]
After leaving the Dolphins, Johnson became a television studio analyst again forFox Sports andFox NFL Sunday. He has been assigned as a studio analyst for Fox's coverage of theBowl Championship Series in January withChris Rose as the host, and also pens a column on Foxsports.com. In addition he has made several guest or cameo appearances in film and television: as a bearded prisoner in lockup on the television seriesThe Shield, as a guest star in the episode, "Johnsonwreckers" onCoach in 1994, and a cameo in the movieThe Waterboy, next toBill Cowher.
In March 2025, Johnson announced his retirement from sports broadcasting.[18]
Johnson endorsements includeProcter & Gamble,[19] and a series of commercials for the male enhancement pillExtenZe in 2010.[20] He was also involved in a South Florida-based scam called The Leading Edge that purported to feature businesses on an "educational" "interstitial" program by that name that would air onpublic television. Johnson filmed the TV spots, in the style of an infomercial, and businesses were pitched on the program using these clips, which appeared on the website. They were charged an "underwriting fee" of over $20,000 to appear on the show, however, the show never actually would then air. They were not affiliated with PBS and there is no record of any air dates.[21]
Johnson was one of 20 castaways competing inSurvivor: Nicaragua, the 21st edition ofSurvivor, in late 2010. He is a long-time fan of the show, and had been cast forSurvivor: Gabon, which was the 17th edition of the show, but had to withdraw after failing a physical.[22] Johnson, the oldest contestant of the season, was part of the Espada tribe, made up entirely of people aged 40 and older.[23] He was voted out 8–1 on Day Eight of the competition, becoming the third person voted out of the game and finishing 18th overall. As he left the game, he said to his tribe, "One of you, win a million bucks, okay?" However, the season was won by a member of the opposing La Flor tribe. He also said, "I had fun, but I was miserable the whole time. I still love the game, it's been a great adventure, but this is the most stressful time I've ever gone through in my life. And that includesSuper Bowls and collegiate national championships. I initially said, 'Keep your strongest members.' I obviously wasn't one of them."[24]
Johnson was surprised during a telecast ofFox NFL Sunday by Pro Football Hall of Fame PresidentDavid Baker on January 12, 2020, announcing that he would be the 328th member of thePro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.[25] He personally thanked his coworkers onFox NFL Sunday, and thanked his players and assistant coaches for their contributions. Following numerous delays due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, Johnson was formally inducted on August 7, 2021.[26]
NFL
NCAA
Media
Halls of Fame
Johnson married Linda Kay Cooper on July 12, 1963,[27] with whom he had two sons. They divorced in January 1990. On July 18, 1999, Johnson married Rhonda Rookmaaker.[28] As of 2010, he lives inIslamorada in theFlorida Keys.[29]
Johnson owned Three Rings restaurant inMiami and owns JJ's Big Chill, a bar and grill located inKey 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 inOklahoma City, but it has closed. Johnson's fishing boat, docked behind his oceanfront home inIslamorada, Florida, is also calledThree Rings.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma State Cowboys(Big Eight Conference)(1979–1983) | |||||||||
| 1979 | Oklahoma State | 7–4 | 5–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1980 | Oklahoma State | 3–7–1 | 2–4–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1981 | Oklahoma State | 7–5 | 4–3 | T–3rd | LIndependence | ||||
| 1982 | Oklahoma State | 4–5–2 | 3–2–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1983 | Oklahoma State | 8–4 | 3–4 | 4th | WAstro-Bluebonnet | 18 | |||
| Oklahoma State: | 29–25–3 | 17–15–3 | |||||||
| Miami Hurricanes(NCAA Division I-A independent)(1984–1988) | |||||||||
| 1984 | Miami | 8–5 | LFiesta | 18 | |||||
| 1985 | Miami | 10–2 | LSugar | 8 | 9 | ||||
| 1986 | Miami | 11–1 | LFiesta | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 1987 | Miami | 12–0 | WOrange | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 1988 | Miami | 11–1 | WOrange | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Miami: | 52–9 | ||||||||
| Total: | 81–34–3 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| DAL | 1989 | 1 | 15 | 0 | .063 | 5th in NFC East | — | — | — | — |
| DAL | 1990 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4th in NFC East | — | — | — | — |
| DAL | 1991 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 2nd in NFC East | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost toDetroit Lions inNFC Divisional Game |
| DAL | 1992 | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 1st in NFC East | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | Super Bowl XXVII champions |
| DAL | 1993 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 1st in NFC East | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | Super Bowl XXVIII champions |
| DAL total | 44 | 36 | 0 | .550 | 7 | 1 | .875 | |||
| MIA | 1996 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4th in AFC East | — | — | — | — |
| MIA | 1997 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2nd in AFC East | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost toNew England Patriots inAFC Wild Card Game |
| MIA | 1998 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 2nd in AFC East | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost toDenver Broncos inAFC Divisional Game |
| MIA | 1999 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3rd in AFC East | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost toJacksonville Jaguars inAFC Divisional Game |
| MIA total | 36 | 28 | 0 | .563 | 2 | 3 | .400 | |||
| Total[30] | 80 | 64 | 0 | .556 | 9 | 4 | .692 | |||
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:
| International | |
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| National | |