From 1977 to 1978 he worked as both assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for the University of Pittsburgh. In 1973, he returned to his alma mater and became the defensive coordinator for the Razorbacks. After a number of other assistant coaching jobs, he became the defensive line head coach for the University of Oklahoma. Johnson began his coaching career as an assistant coach for Louisiana Tech University in 1965. Jimmy remained an integral part of the team and earned the nickname "Jimmy Jumpup" because of his tendency to spring up off the ground after being tackled. In 1964, the Razorbacks went undefeated and became a national champion. Playing under Broyles was clearly a positive experience for Johnson, and he must have soaked up plenty of tactical knowledge during this period. In addition, the Razorbacks were coached by Frank Boyles, who is widely considered to be one of the greatest college head coaches in football history. He joined a number of notable players who also joined the Razorbacks, including Jerry Jones (the future owner of the Dallas Cowboys), Ken Hatfield, Loyd Phillips, and many others. The Razorbacks experienced notable levels of success during the next period, and Jimmy became an all-Southwest Conference defensive lineman. Bailey.Īfter graduating from high school, Johnson attended the University of Arkansas and immediately won a place on the football team. He rubbed shoulders with a few future stars while at secondary school – including musician Janis Joplin and actor G.W. During his high school years, he became enamored with football for the first time. Johnson is one of only two players/coaches to have won a national championship as a player in college, coached a national championship NCAA team, and coached a team to a Super Bowl win.James William Johnson was born on July 16th of 1943 in Port Arthur, Texas. In 2020 Jimmy Johnson was inducted into the National Football League Hall of Fame. In May 2012, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Johnson was also inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. In 1993 Jimmy Johnson was inducted into the Museum of the Gulf Coast, Sports Hall of Fame. He is currently an analyst for Fox NFL Sunday, on its NFL pregame show, sitting alongside Terry Bradshaw, one of the first players he ever successfully recruited as an assistant coach. The talent he put together was so dominant, the Cowboys were able to win another Super Bowl 2 years later.
With Troy Aikman, Emmett Smith, and an amazing stable of other talented players, Johnson put together, the Cowboys won Super Bowl XXVII in 1992 and Super Bowl XXVIII in 1993 (defeating the Buffalo Bills in both Super Bowls).Īfter Johnson was unable to continue to work with Jerry Jones, he left the Cowboys and eventually spent three years coaching for the Miami Dolphins before his retirement from the NFL. Johnson's first season was a dismal 1-15, but he made one of the most lopsided trades of all time when he sent Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings and parlayed the resulting draft picks into six high-quality players. Jones and Johnson had been teammates at Arkansas. On February 25, 1989, Johnson was named by Jerry Jones as the replacement for legendary Dallas Cowboy's head coach Tom Landry. In his five years in Miami, the team went 52-9, played in 5 New Year's Day bowl games, played for two national championships, winning one in 1987. After a shaky start, however, Johnson developed the Hurricanes into one of the best teams in the country. The Hurricanes had won a national championship the year before, and many in Miami were skeptical of the choice. In 1984 Johnson was hired as the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes. He compiled a 29-25 record and had two bowl appearances. Johnson's first head coaching job was at Oklahoma State in 1979, where he coached the team into national prominence. In his two years there, he ran one of college football's all-time great defenses. In 1977, Johnson went to Pittsburgh as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. He returned to Arkansas in 1973 as his alma mater's defensive coordinator. He spent two years at Iowa State under Johnny Majors and was part of Chuck Fairbanks' Oklahoma staff from 1970 to 1972.
Johnson began coaching at Louisiana Tech in 1965, where he helped recruit Terry Bradshaw from Shreveport, Louisiana. He was a three-year letterman and named to Arkansas' All-Decade Team of the 1960s. Undefeated, the team was voted national champions by the Football Writers Association of America.
Former Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Jimmy Johnson first earned football accolades at Thomas Jefferson High School (now Memorial High School) in Port Arthur, Texas as a two-way lineman.Īttending the University of Arkansas, Johnson became an All-Southwest Conference defensive lineman and helped lead the team to the 1964 national championship.