Jimmy Johnson to be inducted into Cowboys Ring of Honor

Prior to the Dallas Cowboys’ Thursday night preseason matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced former Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson will be inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor.

Jerry Jones announced that Jimmy Johnson will be inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 5, 2021

Johnson, 78, will be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame on Saturday. He is the first head coach to win both a college football championship and a Super Bowl. He achieved the former with the Miami Hurricanes and the latter with the Cowboys.

Jimmy Johnson’s coaching career

Johnson began his coaching career as an assistant at Louisiana Tech University in 1965. He was instrumental in recruiting the likes of Terry Bradshaw in his time in Ruston, Louisiana. In 1979, Johnson landed his first head coaching opportunity with Oklahoma State. In five years in Stillwater, Johnson went 29-25-3.

Johnson was then hired by Miami in 1984. He led the Hurricanes to their first undefeated regular season in school history in 1986. The following season, the Hurricanes won the national championship, Johnson’s first, and only college football championship, by defeating Oklahoma.

All in all, Johnson went 52-9 in his time at Miami.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

In 1989, Jimmy Johnson was hired by Jerry Jones to be the second head coach in Dallas Cowboys history, filling the shoes of the legendary Tom Landry, who had led the Cowboys since 1960.

Johnson led the Cowboys to a 44-36 record over five seasons. He won back-to-back Super Bowls in the 1992 and 1993 seasons. Near the end of his tenure, Johnson and Jones’ relationship fell apart. The two parties agreed to mutually split ways following the 1993 season.

Jones and Johnson appeared alongside each other on the FOX pregame show leading up to the Cowboys-Steelrs preseason showdown on Thursday night.

“We are going to certainly be recognizing what’s happening here with the Hall of Fame,” Jones said on the FOX pregame show before the Cowboys faced the Steelers in the Hall of Fame Game. “But Tex Schramm, who started that Ring of Honor, he said, ‘Jerry, keep it kind of limited with people, but make sure it wasn’t just about the plays they made. Make sure they contributed to the story of the franchise.’ Now, it’s kind of hard not to recognize [Johnson’s] contribution to the story of the franchise.”

Joining Cowboys Ring of Honor

As of Thursday night, there is no date for Johnson’s Ring of Honor induction.

Johnson will be the 23rd member and second head coach of the Cowboys Ring of Honor, joining Bob Hayes, Bob Lilly, Chuck Howley, Cliff Harris, Charles Haley, Darren Woodson, Don Meredith, Don Perkins, Drew Pearson, Emmitt 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 Troy Aikman.

In his pro career, Johnson coached the likes of Troy Aikman, who will introduce Johnson on Saturday, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Larry Brown, Dan Marino, Jason Taylor and more. He received AP Coach of the Year honors in 1990 and Walter Camp Coach of the Year honors in 1986.

Johnson received the news he would be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in early 2020 as a member of this year’s class, but due to COVID-19, the ceremony was delayed until 2021.