Arkansas Razorbacks Alumnus Shares Insights on Illustrious Career as a Player and Head Coach
Before Jimmy Johnson became a legendary Super Bowl-winning head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the early ’90s or the architect of the feisty national championship Miami Hurricanes in the late ’80s, he was a standout defensive end from Port Arthur, Texas, whose family moved to a small town in Johnson County, Arkansas.
The charismatic, slickly-combed, white-haired 82-year-old was the keynote speaker at the Little Rock Touchdown Club in Little Rock, Arkansas, last month. During his 50-minute presentation, he took questions and reflected on his iconic career and the foundation he set at the University of Arkansas.
“So Arkansas came down. (Assistant coach) Jim Mackenzie, he looked at my tape and offered me a scholarship right there,” Johnson said. “I’d never been to Fayetteville before in my life, and I said, ‘Well, let me talk to Mama and Daddy.’ And Mom looked at me and said, ‘You can go wherever you want to go, but if you want us to watch you play, you’re going to Arkansas.’ “
Johnson would be the first person in his family to attend college, as his father worked seven days a week at an ice cream factory and his mother was a cashier at a grocery store. Numerous schools showed interest, including the Air Force Academy, the University of Alabama, and Texas A&M, but he decided to stay close and become a Razorback.
This was a great decision, as he won the national championship in 1964 and was named to the All-Southwest Conference team, the all-decade team of the 1960s, and the Arkansas State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988, as well as the university’s Hall of Fame in 1999. He also played with future Cowboys owner Jerry Jones during his time in Fayetteville, a relationship that would serve him very well nearly twenty-five years later.
He would start his coaching career with stops at Louisiana Tech, Wichita State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Pittsburgh before becoming the head coach at Oklahoma State. His success led to him being offered the Miami job, and the rest is history.
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The Hurricanes went 8-5 in Year 1 under Johnson, but they improved to 10-2 the following year, sandwiched between 11-1 marks in 1986 and 1988, which included an undefeated, 12-0 national title season in 1987. Jerry Jones had purchased the Cowboys and wanted to bring in his old friend to replace legendary head coach Tom Landry.
“Tom Landry was a great, great coach -- he had three straight losing seasons. They were the worst team in the NFL, 3-13 before we got there,” Johnson said. “I tell people, ‘It wasn’t because of coaching it was because they just didn’t have enough talent. We’ve got to bring more talent in.’ And that’s what we did.”
Johnson took over as the organization’s second head coach in history, and a new era was born. The Cowboys had already drafted standout wide receiver Michael Irvin in 1988, who had been a playmaker for Johnson in Coral Gables. The year after they drafted Troy Aikman, and in 1990, stout running back Emmitt Smith. The trifecta of “The Triplets” would be the pillars of the Cowboys’ success in the coming decade. The Cowboys won three Super Bowl titles between 1992 and 1996.
Jones and Johnson agreed to mutually part ways following the Super Bowl win, and Barry Switzer led the Cowboys to their most recent title in 1995. Johnson blamed the lack of communication for his long-term, but since-resolved, issues with Jones.
“We’re really good now, we talk now,” he said. “We see each other like we’re best friends, so it’s all good.”
The candor and insights Johnson delivered captivated the room as he also shared anecdotes from his post-coaching broadcast career and the relationships he’s built beyond the gridiron.
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