The Dallas Cowboys are a storied franchise, and thanks to that, they are known as “America’s Team.” A major reason was the success they had with head coach Jimmy Johnson.
However, Dallas isn’t the only team Johnson coached for. Which teams did he coach during his NFL tenure?
Who Did Jimmy Johnson Coach During His Career?
Johnson was born and raised in Port Arthur, Texas, on July 16, 1943. He attended Thomas Jefferson High School, which is now known as Memorial High School. He was a classmate of Janis Joplin, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
After high school, Johnson became a defensive lineman at the University of Arkansas from 1962 to 1964. During his time, he was named to the All-Southwest Conference team and helped the team win a national championship in 1964. He was later named to Arkansas’ All-Decade team of the 1960s and the university’s Hall of Fame in 1999.
During his playing career, Johnson was actually the teammate of current Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones. This would be key in Johnson’s future with the organization.
Johnson began his coaching career in 1965 when he joined Louisiana Tech University as an assistant coach. He didn’t receive his first major coaching job until 1970, when he joined Oklahoma as a defensive line coach, where he spent three seasons.
He was then named the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Pittsburgh from 1977-1978. His first head coaching job came at Oklahoma State University the following season, a job he held from 1979 to 1983. He was also the head coach at Miami (FL) from 1984 to 1988. He was named Walter Camp Coach of the Year in 1986.
Johnson was later inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1996 and into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2012. In his five years at Miami, Johnson compiled a 52–9 record, appeared in five New Year’s Day bowl games, won one national championship (1987), and lost one to the Penn State Nittany Lions (1986).
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Johnson got his first NFL job in 1989, when the Cowboys hired him. He became the franchise’s second head coach, replacing Tom Landry, who had coached the team since 1960. Johnson spent five seasons with the Cowboys from 1989-1993.
He compiled a 44-36 regular-season record with Dallas and went 7-1 in postseason play. He led the team to a Super Bowl championship twice, in Super Bowl XXVII and XXVIII. He was AP NFL Coach of the Year in 1990. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2020.
After leaving the Cowboys and spending two years as a television analyst with Fox Sports, Johnson joined the Miami Dolphins in 1996, replacing head coach Don Shula. He retired from coaching in 2000 after a disappointing tenure, posting just a 36-28 record, going 2-3 in postseason play.
Johnson finished his career with an 80-64 record, including a 9-4 postseason record. Additionally, he had an 81-34-3 record in his time as a college coach. He has since been a TV studio analyst for FOX Sports, with Johnson starting his second tenure with the network in 2002, two years after leaving the Dolphins.
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