The spring of 1994 was very busy for those of us in the Dallas/Fort Worth media. We had followed the Cowboys to a second straight Super Bowl. Another defeat of the Bills, this one staged in Atlanta. As back-to-back champions, the Cowboys had recaptured the attention of the world. Even in the off season we covered the team on a near daily basis.
Still imagine my surprise as I completed a long day of work at Texas Rangers spring training when the phone rang. I thought, “wake up call already? It seems like I have only been asleep for two hours.” Turns out I had only been asleep for two hours. It was just after midnight in DFW. In those days the “early edition” of the Dallas Morning News arrived at the offices of NBC5 right at midnight. It had the story of a huge feud between Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson. In it Jerry was feeling disrespected and said he could get 500 other coaches who could lead the team to the Super Bowl. The two were at NFL meetings just up the road in Orlando.
We left the hotel in Port Charlotte at 3:30am for the three and a half hour trip to Orlando. Jerry was available to talk to the media that day but Jimmy was not. We did learn that Johnson would be attending Emmitt Smith’s football camp in Pensacola that weekend. So after a couple more days covering the Rangers we packed up the car and embarked on an eight and a half hour trip to the Florida panhandle.
Jimmy was there and he was talking! He heatedly discussed what had happened in Orlando and said he did not believe that he and Jerry could continue working together, not after the 500 coaches comment. Later that week the split was official. At no time before or since has a coach been relieved of his duties after winning back to back championships.
For 25 years the Jones/Johnson relationship was chilly at best. But when Jimmy was inducted into the Pro-Football Hall of Fame the two seemed to have made up. They laughed and joked in Canton together. In fact, Terry Bradshaw who was there at the time, noted that they were cutting up and acting like brothers. Jerry said then that Jimmy would be added to the ring.
Still four years after the call from the Hall of Fame, Jimmy was still on the outside looking in at the Ring of Honor. He watched from afar as Demarcus Ware went in earlier this season. In fact, in some ways the Ware induction was tarnished by all of the questions asked about why Jimmy had not been added to the ring.
So, it is finally happening. Jerry announced last month that Jimmy was going in. Jimmy joked, “One reason for this year is I’m still alive.” Both men are octogenarians now and it appears that time really does heal all wounds. After thirty years of waiting for this day, Jimmy was all smiles.
“My feelings have never changed,” Johnson said. “I love this guy. He’s a big, big part, maybe the biggest part for my entire career, and I’m very appreciative.”
For his part Jerry was not as interested in the long delay or what caused it. He was focused on the long term relationship that dates back to the early 60’s as college teammates at Arkansas.
“This shouldn’t, in any way, stand in place of the great relationship we had,” Jones said. We were boys together. We had a chance to literally climb on a rocket.”
And so, on December 30th, 2023, Jimmy Johnson will become the 24th member of the Cowboys Ring of Honor. He will join Tom Landry as the only other coach in the ring. He will take his rightful place alongside Troy Aikman, Larry Allen, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson as 90’s Cowboys whose names will live forever in franchise lore.
Many fans have believed that the Cowboys have been cursed since Jimmy left, considering they have not even made it to the NFC Championship game without a team assembled by Johnson. I’m not a big believer in curses but does this lift the curse? Check back with me in February, I may become a believer.
Sports columnist John Rhadigan is an anchor for the Bally Sports Southwest television network.
