Just Finished Jimmy Johnson's Book - A few interesting facts

[Thomas82]

it would have been nice if Jerry and Jimmy knew they were going to part ways as Jimmy always says had they done it earlier.

Norv Turner would have been a nice transition to head coach if jimmy was going to walk as he likes to claim.

Just one more thing Jerry Jones screwed up.

Yeah, it definitely sucked to see Norv coaching the Commanders.

 

[Thomas82]

Agree. Jimmy’s 5 year run is the GOAT status.

The only guy in NFL history to win Coach Of The Year with a losing record.

 

[Diehardblues]

The only guy in NFL history to win Coach Of The Year with a losing record.

It’s because it was the greatest turn around in NFL history after going 1-15.

If the Saints had lost the final game of the season on Monday night the Cowboys would have made the playoffs at 7-9.

If Aikman hadn’t gone down when we were 7-7 with Babe Laufenburg closing out with 2 losses probably would have finished without a losing record. And why that losing record doesn’t tell the whole story.

 

[Thomas82]

It’s because it was the greatest turn around in NFL history after going 1-15.

If the Saints had lost the final game of the season on Monday night the Cowboys would have made the playoffs at 7-9.

If Aikman hadn’t gone down when we were 7-7 with Babe Laufenburg closing out with 2 losses probably would have finished without a losing record. And why that losing record doesn’t tell the whole story.

All facts!!

 

[jterrell]

Various notes.

Jimmy divorced his first wife because he was having a long-time affair with his to-be 2nd wife, lol.
He needed Jerry badly to help with costs and Jerry gave him a 1m advance during the divorce settlement.

Jimmy was a driven guy but he wasn't a great person. He was a manipulator and schemer. Made him a great coach.
Jimmy played the local media like a fiddle which is largely why so much roses and sunshine comes out about Jimmy.
Jimmy met local media weekly at those restaurants and bought the drinks.
They in turn glorified him in print.
Jimmy had some common themes with Michael Jordan.

Jimmy's defensive philosophy of being deep and rotating DL really caught on.
He also believed in a faster, smaller defense.

Both of the best high school football players I ever saw both committed to play for Jimmy at Miami.
One later played for him w the Cowboys, Dallas Roosevelt's Kevin Williams.
The other was a long-time NYGiant, Jessie Armstead out of Dallas Carter.
The 3rd best committed to Erickson at Miami and had cups of coffee on the NFL level.

Part of why Jimmy worked so many hours is he literally hatred being in Dallas.
He hated being landlocked and never understood the purpose of Lakes when you had perfectly good oceans.
That is also a big reason why Jimmy left. He had been targeting the Dolphins job for 2-3 years (cajoling the Dolphins owner) and was really the reason Jerry started to dislike him.
Also why Shula hated him.

 

[jterrell]

It’s because it was the greatest turn around in NFL history after going 1-15.

If the Saints had lost the final game of the season on Monday night the Cowboys would have made the playoffs at 7-9.

If Aikman hadn’t gone down when we were 7-7 with Babe Laufenburg closing out with 2 losses probably would have finished without a losing record. And why that losing record doesn’t tell the whole story.

That is dishonest.
Jimmy was the original tanker and they only went 1-15 because he wanted them to.
He forced losses on that team but they weren't that awful.

I mean look at the roster:
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/1989_roster.htm

 

[eromeopolk]

Yes the book touches on both, but the details are slightly different than how you have them laid out.

In Dallas, Gil tried to recruit Johnson to come out of the college ranks and into the NFL as a Defensive Coordinator, with the understanding that he'd become head coach after Landry put in place a plan for his retirement. Obviously that offer wasn't attractive to Jimmy.

In SF, DeBartolo wanted him to come bad, but it was Bill Walsh's insistence that they make an internal hire which ultimately culminated in the Siefert hire.

Yeah that is what I heard except for that DC position. I have a very credible source that the plan did not include a DC position, but for a plan to be put in place for Landry's retirement, draft Aikman (Johnson only holdover in 89 was Jerry Rhome QB coach), and for Jimmy was to stay at Miami with the hiring of Dave Wannesdat and Gary Stevens by the Dolphins to Shula's staff. It would then be credible for his college coaches to say they had experience in the NFL.

Also, Jimmy was no fool. Tex tried that on staff replacement B.S. with Paul Hackett off of Walsh staff and Landry would have none of it. I am just reading between the lines but why would Jimmy let Wannesdat go to the Dolphins and Gary Stevens go to the Dolphins if he was not going to stay in Miami as that is what Tex/Gil wanted (to get the plan in place for him to replace Landry)? He then would not had to pay Don Shula with letting his son come to Dallas as OC. Gary Stevens chose Marino over coaching a rookies like Aikman. When Gary Stevens turned him down, Jimmy was not happy with that outcome.

I am not saying the DC offer was not there. But no one remembers it, including me. Sounds to strange with all the inter workings going on until Bum Bright let Jerry Jones blow it up for Tex, Gil, and Landry.

 

[Diehardblues]

That is dishonest.
Jimmy was the original tanker and they only went 1-15 because he wanted them to.
He forced losses on that team but they weren't that awful.

I mean look at the roster:
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/1989_roster.htm

They were 3-13 the year before. I’m not sure how many games you thought we should have won?

 

[TheSkaven]

I believe Jimmys draft grading guide has since been far surpassed.

It has been tweaked yes but he invented the whole idea of using a chart. But Cowboys have been inn

They had a good working relationship until Jerry started getting into the player personnel side. Had Jerry been like any other owner in the NFL and just let his coach run the team, there is no reason to think Jimmy wouldn't have 6 rings right now. About the only thing you can fault Jimmy for is not being more tolerant of Jerry's laughable attempt to re-make himself into a respected "football man". Being a respected owner was never enough for Jerry. He wanted to walk into a room of coaches and feel like he belonged. He just never did.

Sorry, I just disagree wholeheartedly. What set Jerry off was that Jimmy and his coaches were rumor mongering about him in that very moment when he walked up to the table. They didn't even raise their glasses to toast the guy.

We've all worked for egotistical bosses. I've got a big ego, myself. But you find ways to let them feel important. Jimmy did the opposite, he mocked the owner privately among his peers. He hurt his ego. Now, Jerry owns 50% of the blame too, but I don't see it all on Jerry.

 

[conner01]

I love Jimmy Johnson. He was the type of coach I played for.

He was the type of coach that got players to play
Fear is a good motivator lol
That’s the biggest failing of the last decade
We’ve had more talent than we got wins from because we didn’t get the most out of the talent
Scheme is one thing but getting players to play up to their potential is what coaches like jimmy and Parcells were masters of

 

[jterrell]

They were 3-13 the year before. I’m not sure how many games you thought we should have won?

They probably would have won 3-5 if they had really tried. The team they did beat was the defending SB champs and they did it with Walsh at QB.

That team ended up with something like 7-8 starters off the 1992 team which was considered the best in the history of the League.
Tuinei, Aikman, Moose, Nate, Tolbert off the top of my head.--Irvin was on IR.
Jimmy has admitted he held out guys that year intentionally to prevent them hitting trade and salary incentives.

That defense was actually pretty darn good. The LB alone were Norton, Del Rio and Lockhart.

 

[jterrell]

He was the type of coach that got players to play
Fear is a good motivator lol
That’s the biggest failing of the last decade
We’ve had more talent than we got wins from because we didn’t get the most out of the talent
Scheme is one thing but getting players to play up to their potential is what coaches like jimmy and Parcells were masters of

He didn't just use fear.
He was able to reach guys in many ways and he never even tried treating players equally.
He would punish Emmitt's friends on the team for instance if Emmitt messed up, lol.
But he also taught Troy Aikman about tropical fish.
He would get in guys heads for sure.

 

[Diehardblues]

They probably would have won 3-5 if they had really tried. The team they did beat was the defending SB champs and they did it with Walsh at QB.

That team ended up with something like 7-8 starters off the 1992 team which was considered the best in the history of the League.
Tuinei, Aikman, Moose, Nate, Tolbert off the top of my head.--Irvin was on IR.
Jimmy has admitted he held out guys that year intentionally to prevent them hitting trade and salary incentives.

That defense was actually pretty darn good. The LB alone were Norton, Del Rio and Lockhart.

But we traded our best player in Herschel in October if I recall correctly.

It’s interesting you think we were somehow that improved from the 3-13 team.

Yes, Jimmy held out guys he received from the Herschel trade so it wouldn’t cost us as much in draft value if they didn’t produce.

The bigger point is even if we’d kept Herschel and didn’t hold back anyone we still didn’t have more than a 3 or 4 win team.

 

[jterrell]

But we traded our best player in Herschel in October if I recall correctly.

It’s interesting you think we were somehow that improved from the 3-13 team.

Yes, Jimmy held out guys he received from the Herschel trade so it wouldn’t cost us as much in draft value if they didn’t produce.

The bigger point is even if we’d kept Herschel and didn’t hold back anyone we still didn’t have more than a 3 or 4 win team.

We traded Herschel for like 5 legit NFL players and then forced them to the bench to reap the trade benefits.

Jimmy has mentioned this numerous times. He didn't want them at all and just wanted the highest possible picks for them which meant not playing them and losing games.
It drove his Asst coaches crazy. They couldn't even sub them in for injured guys.

 

[ClappingCarrot]

It’s because it was the greatest turn around in NFL history after going 1-15.

If the Saints had lost the final game of the season on Monday night the Cowboys would have made the playoffs at 7-9.

If Aikman hadn’t gone down when we were 7-7 with Babe Laufenburg closing out with 2 losses probably would have finished without a losing record. And why that losing record doesn’t tell the whole story.

Jimmy mentioned this in the book as well.

It made him realize how important backup QB is in the NFL and really what prompted him to trade for Steve Beuerlein the following season. That's what I love about Jimmy. He obsessed over weaknesses and worked tirelessly to correct them. After the Lions trounced us in the playoffs, he saw a weakness in our pass defense. So he moved Kenny Gant, acquired Thomas Everett from Pittsburgh, drafted Darren Woodson, and drafted Kevin Smith. That season, we were champs.

And that's another thing I love about Jimmy. He was constantly evolving. Never looked at any player with rose colored glasses. Hell, he was the guy who had to tell Cowboys legends like Ed Too Tall, Danny White, and Randy White that it was all over.

Why the Garrett regime was always too stubborn or too ignorant to ever learn from a beat down, I'll never understand. All the great ones do.

 

[Diehardblues]

Jimmy mentioned this in the book as well.

It made him realize how important backup QB is in the NFL and really what prompted him to trade for Steve Beuerlein the following season. That's what I love about Jimmy. He obsessed over weaknesses and worked tirelessly to correct them. After the Lions trounced us in the playoffs, he saw a weakness in our pass defense. So he moved Kenny Gant, acquired Thomas Everett from Pittsburgh, drafted Darren Woodson, and drafted Kevin Smith. That season, we were champs.

And that's another thing I love about Jimmy. He was constantly evolving. Never looked at any player with rose colored glasses. Hell, he was the guy who had to tell Cowboys legends like Ed Too Tall, Danny White, and Randy White that it was all over.

Why the Garrett regime was always too stubborn or too ignorant to ever learn from a beat down, I'll never understand. All the great ones do.

We’re assuming Garrett had the authority to make the changes.

I’d agree with some of your Assessments of Jimmy. Not sure why felt at the end of your post to mention Garrett though.

I guess with your screen name though your life has run its course . Who can you troll now?

 

[ClappingCarrot]

We’re assuming Garrett had the authority to make the changes.

I’d agree with some of your Assessments of Jimmy. Not sure why felt at the end of your post to mention Garrett though.

I guess with your screen name though your life has run its course . Who can you troll now?

I felt the need to mention Garrett because we've been stuck with him the better part of a decade and I feel like this franchise has underachieved mightily under his tenure. He saw first hand how a championship team operates and did nothing when teams punched him in the mouth over and over again in games that mattered.

I forget you're somewhat of a Garrett apologist though so I'll stop taking shots at your buddy.

 

[Diehardblues]

I felt the need to mention Garrett because we've been stuck with him the better part of a decade and I feel like this franchise has underachieved mightily under his tenure. He saw first hand how a championship team operates and did nothing when teams punched him in the mouth over and over again in games that mattered.

I forget you're somewhat of a Garrett apologist though so I'll stop taking shots at your buddy.

How did our franchise do the decade before Garrett arrived?

Would you say we are in a better or worse place after his departure from when he took over?

 

[esmith1790]

All i got to say is "How about them Hawkeyes"

 

[BAT]

ESPN should do:

Last Dance: 90's Cowboys Dynasty