DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – As the beloved Super Bowl-winning coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Jimmy Johnson, would say: “How ’bout them Cowboys!”
Johnson, who in 1989 replaced Tom Landry, the only man to coach Dallas from the franchise’s inception in 1960, generally is credited with coining that phrase. He could take pride in it considering the Cowboys won two consecutive Super Bowls under his guidance, and took a third with the roster he put together even though Johnson had left the team in a dispute with owner Jerry Jones.
Johnson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the centennial class.
Jimmy Johnson, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Centennial Class, poses with his bust during the induction ceremony at the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 7, 2021 in Canton, Ohio. (Photo by Ron Schwane-Pool/Getty Images)
He quickly rebuilt the Cowboys when Jones bought the team in ’89, using the draft and perhaps the most lopsided trade in pro sports history — Herschel Walker to Minnesota for a slew of draft picks who formed much of the core of those title teams — to revitalize America’s Team. He made 51 deals in his five seasons with the Cowboys.
“We made history not only for the Dallas Cowboys, but for the NFL,” Johnson said of himself, Jones and the team, which was 1-15 in his first season and soon enough was winning Super Bowls. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Jerry.”
Johnson also coached the Dolphins from 1996-99.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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