Tag: Jimmy Johnson

Jimmy Johnson and the advisory board should steer Cowboys’ focus here

The Cowboys may have renewed focus in rebuilding their offensive and defensive lines with Jimmy Johnson now advising them.

Jimmy Johnson is back in the inner circle. Sure, he’s now finally in the Cowboys Ring of Honor. His exclusion up until now has been laughably absurd. But no, that’s not the inner circle being referred to here. Back in Jerry Jones’ good graces, Johnson is now in Jones’ inner circle and is even said be on an advisory board of sorts.

Likely less official than the name indicates, an advisory role is a good step in the right direction for the franchise. The Cowboys haven’t found meaningful postseason success in almost 30 years. Consulting the last person who built a Super Bowl winning roster in Dallas is the least Jones can do.

How much weight that direction carries is another story. Are these just causal conversations or is Jones really seeking direction from his advisory board?

Some of the advice Johnson is giving Jones probably goes without saying.  Mental toughness and discipline have been issues for years on the Cowboys. There’s no way Johnson would have tolerated some of the mistakes that have become common place as of late. Besides, when’s the last time a boomer passed up the opportunity to critique the discipline of “the kids these days?”

Linebacker size is another area that almost goes without saying. The Cowboys were severely undersized in the box last season, and they paid for it. It’s led discussions all winter and is something sure to be addressed at various points of the offseason with or without Johnson’s advice.

Thinking back to his era of success, Johnson could be preaching a return to the running game. While the modern game leans heavily in favor of the passing game, the running game isn’t without its value. It’s the basis for which the Cowboys were built under Johnson and could be a direction he’s trying to point Jones going forward.

Yet there’s one trait that truly stands out on the Cowboys of old. Something Johnson worked hard to create and something that was executed with brilliance. A trait that propelled the Cowboys to three Super Bowls (two with Johnson at the helm) and something they’ve never been able to reproduce.

Dominant offensive and defensive lines.

While statements like “establish the run” may be dated and unsupported, statements like “control the trenches” are always applicable. The sun doesn’t set on this principle.

Cowboys News: Familiar free agents, Most valuable franchise in sports

Familiar free agents that could sign in Dallas along with franchise tag options. | From @ArmyChiefW3

The Cowboys will get every chance to prove they are “all in” once the new league year begins and free agents can choose where they want to go. A new system requires different players, so tracking down a few familiar names would be a great place to start the defensive overhaul. A mainstay from that side of the ball may not be able to return from a serious injury sustained last season.

The swing tackle position was infamously highlighted a few years back and fortifying the position has become a yearly item to check off the the list. Has the team found a long-term replacement? The franchise tag has been used often in Dallas lately but this year could break a surprising streak. Cowboys tight end Jason Ferguson discusses how he prepared for the 2023 season with the national media. A Cowboys big board, Jimmy Johnson saving the boys, a new addition to the staff, and a collection of guesses at who Dallas takes with their first pick round out this edition of Cowboys news and notes.

Jimmy Johnson isn’t coming to save the Cowboys

Former Super Bowl winning coach Dallas Cowboys Jimmy Johnson isn’t coming to save Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys. | From @BenGrimaldi

Unless they were living under a rock in these past few days, most fans have heard that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has spoken with former coach Jimmy Johnson at length after the season ended. The significance of that  conversation has blown up around Cowboys Nation because as Johnson puts it, he’s now on Jones’ “advisory board.”

When reading it without context, it certainly seems like the relationship between the two has been mended and it has led to Johnson providing some helpful input to Jones. The former coach even went as far as to say things are now “hunky dory” between the two.

That’s all well and good, and it was well past time for Jones to do the right thing to put Johnson into the franchises iconic Ring of Honor, but Johnson isn’t coming to save the Cowboys. No, that task still falls on Jones and his son Stephen to make the best moves for the organization.

It’s one thing to be an advisor for Jones, but it’s quite another to be involved with the team and making actual decisions. And when actually listening to how Johnson put it, being on the “advisory board” is much more of a hands-off, informal role than it is an actual consultant. Beyond that, though, it sounds like it was more of a joke from Johnson than most have been portraying it to be.

Johnson is laughing the entire time he was talking about being back in good graces with Jones, which doesn’t constitute a serious role with the team, but does confirm he’s on better terms with Jones these days. That friendly banter and charm is something that Johnson is famous for, and it looks like some may be taking things a bit far.

Even if Johnson was being serious, his advice can only matter so much. Jones has plenty of former coaches and players he leans into for help, but no one has been able to get through to Jones to make the necessary changes. Bill Parcells, Mike Holmgren, Troy Aikman, and Michael Irvin, among others, have all lent their support to Jones, but it’s all fallen on deaf ears. The Joneses will continue to do what they want when it comes to the Cowboys; that isn’t going to change with Johnson.

Consider one of the reasons why the two fell apart in the first place, with each trying to take the credit from the other for the team’s success. Does anyone truly believe Jones would take Johnson on as a real advisor? If he did, and it worked, the fight over who is responsible for any success would be magnified even more in this day of social media. Jones would likely not be able to handle that again.

No, Jerry Jones didn’t add Johnson to his payroll as an advisor, and the owner is still beating to his own drum, no matter who he takes guidance from. In the big picture it’s up to the Joneses, Will McClay, Mike McCarthy, and the players to win another Super Bowl. However, it’s ultimately up to Jones, who leads the charge as the owner and GM.

It’s a fun story and it’s nice to dream about what could be with Jimmy Johnson back with the Dallas Cowboys, but reality tells a different tale. Johnson isn’t coming to save the Cowboys.

You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi

Former Cowboys head coach criticizes Dan Quinn

Dave Campo happens to be the worst coach in Cowboys’ history.

The Dallas Cowboys have had nine head coaches in the 64-year history of the franchise. Only one of those coaches finished his tenure in Dallas with a losing record: Dave Campo.

Campo was the Dallas head coach from 2000-02 and had a 15-33 record in three seasons. Campo replaced Chan Gailey and was replaced by the legendary Bill Parcells.

To say Campo bleeds Cowboys’ blue would be an understatement. He arrived in Dallas with Jimmy Johnson in 1989. After serving as an assistant under Johnson, Barry Switzer, and Gailey, Campo got his shot at leading the franchise in 2000.

After he was fired and had stints with the Browns and Jaguars, he returned to the Cowboys in 2008 as the defensive backs coach for four seasons under Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett.

Since leaving Dallas after 2011, Campo served as an assistant with the Kansas Jayhawks and, most recently, a two-year stint with the USC Trojans (2018-19) as an analyst.

Campo still follows the Cowboys closely and is friends with Dallas’ new defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer. Campo and Zimmer first worked together in 1981 at Weber State. They were reunited with the Cowboys in 1994 when Switzer hired Zimmer as a defensive assistant.

After six seasons as a defensive assistant, Campo promoted Zimmer to defensive coordinator in 2000 when he took over as head coach. When Campo was fired, Parcells kept Zimmer as his defensive coordinator.

Safe to say, Campo is happy to see his old friend back in charge of the Dallas defense.

But what about the Cowboys’ former defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn? Quinn departed after leading the Cowboys defense for three seasons to become the new head coach of the Washington Commanders.

Campo had some criticism for Quinn.

“From a culture standpoint…… I’ll just say one thing this way,” Campo said in an appearance on the San Antonio Sports Star, as transcribed by Blogging the Boys.

“I know Dan Quinn very well. I was not in the office, in the building, I’m here in Jacksonville, so I saw a bunch of the games. I saw that game. I’m going a little bit on some hearsay. But I think the one thing about Dan is he’s a fine gentleman, and he’s smart, and his scheme was okay, but he was a little bit too buddy-buddy, I think, with the players, and that’s part of it. You can’t have a lot of accountability if you don’t stand a little bit above it of the people that you’re trying to get to be accountable.”

Campo then criticized Quinn’s defense for being too small.

It’s fair to criticize Quinn’s unit for being too small and unable to stop the run, but his three-year run in charge of the Cowboys’ defense was the best three-year run that side of the ball has had in ages.

Quinn’s defense led the NFL in turnovers by a wide margin over the past three years and finished in the top five of FTN’s defensive DVOA in each of his three seasons. While many will remember the blowout loss to the Packers more than Quinn’s success, that isn’t a fair way to judge his tenure in Dallas.

His players will miss him. And fans, if the defense takes a step back under Zimmer, will miss him, too.

As they say, you never know what you have until it’s gone. Ask Eagles coach Nick Sirianni about that after losing both coordinators last offseason.

Campo sticking up for Zimmer is not a surprise. Once it was revealed that Zimmer would return to the Cowboys, Campo said the following on Twitter.

No one knows how Quinn’s tenure in Washington will turn out, but Campo’s comments are one-sided and well-timed. When you base your public comments on hearsay, that’s never a good look.

While Campo may be beloved by some segments of the Dallas fan base, he had a .313 winning percentage as head coach. As Parcells often said, “You are what your record says you are.”

Jimmy Johnson delivered a passionate pep talk during Fox’s halftime show after the Cowboys’ awful start

Jimmy Johnson is tired of watching the Cowboys choke in the playoffs.

Anyone who follows the NFL closely is accustomed to the Dallas Cowboys crumbling in the playoffs. It may as well be a January tradition. And after getting embarrassed by the Green Bay Packers so badly on Sunday that people started joking about Bill Belichick, one notable person decided enough was enough.

Former Cowboys coaching legend Jimmy Johnson.

During Fox’s halftime show, Johnson looked directly into the camera and delivered a weirdly passionate pep talk to the Cowboys with their season hanging in the balance. He professed that he’d keep it clean before saying the players need to get their “rear-ends” in order.

I’m not stunned this happened, but I love seeing Johnson still show this kind of emotion for the Cowboys:

Whether the Cowboys saw Johnson’s message is irrelevant. It’s apparent that all this consistent playoff failure is starting to wear on some Dallas franchise legends. We’ll see whether the Cowboys can change Johnson’s tune by the end of this Wild Card battle.

How 12 football head coaches fared as the replacements for legends like Bill Belichick and Nick Saban

Who replaced Bear Bryant, Don Shula and John Madden and how did they do?

During one of the craziest weeks of football in recent memory, we saw the end of an era for legends like Bill Belichick and Nick Saban.

Belichick, 71, and Saban, 72, are easily two of the greatest coaches that the sport has ever seen. Next season, college football will look very different without Saban coaching Alabama. Meanwhile, the NFL will also look very different without Belichick coaching the Patriots.

Both teams will have huge decisions about how to fill these massive shoes. While there are some interesting candidates for the gig in New England and the job in Tuscaloosa, can either live up to the reputation that Belichick and Saban built?

We looked back at some of the most legendary coaches in football history, both in the NFL and in college football, to learn how these replacements have typically fared.

The results are a fairly mixed bag but if there is one thing we learned, it is that it is not easy to replace someone as accomplished as either of these two Hall of Fame-caliber coaches.

Jimmy Johnson retrospective, Cowboys Ring of Honor induction photo gallery

A look back on Saturday night’s induction ceremony of the incomparable Jimmy Johnson. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Jimmy Johnson became the 24th person inducted into the Dallas Cowboys’ Ring of Honor on Saturday night. The halftime festivities included a ton of emotion for the two-time Super Bowl winning coach, who seems to have finally been able to bury the beef with owner Jerry Jones.

Several RoH members were on hand for the ceremony, including Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett and Johnson’s own triplets: Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith. Check out the pics from the festivities and a handful of other memories from Johnson’s tenure.

The Rock surprised Jimmy Johnson on the Fox NFL pregame show to fulfill a promise from their Miami days

The Rock waited nearly 25 years for this moment.

Jimmy Johnson’s weekend of honors and surprises didn’t end on Saturday with the Dallas Cowboys (finally!) placing the coach in their ring of honor.  His Fox NFL crew had a special guest waiting for him on Sunday’s pregame show before the Week 17 slate kicked off.

Yep. It was Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

The two former Miami Hurricanes finally had a chance to reconnect more than 25 years after the coach began recruiting him to The U. While The Rock eventually played defensive tackle at Miami — and was part of the school’s national championship in 1991 — he did so without Johnson on the sidelines.

The coach left for the Cowboys in 1989, just before The Rock committed to the Hurricanes. Which meant when The Rock delivered his letter of intent to play at Miami, it wasn’t to the coach who recruited him. It was instead addressed to Johnson’s replacement, Dennis Erickson.

On Saturday, The Rock finally got to rectify that in a heartfelt way.

What an awesome moment for these two. You can tell how much it meant to both of them to reconnect on this level all these years later.

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson makes special presentation to Jimmy Johnson

Dwayne ‘The Rock Johnson with a gift for Jimmy Johnson

Jimmy Johnson was emotional on the set of FOX Sports’ NFL pregame show, the day after he was inducted into the Dallas Cowboys’ Ring of Honor.

The show had another surprise for the two-time Super Bowl-winning coach. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson came onto the set and had a special gift for Jimmy Johnson.

After explaining what Miami and Jimmy Johnson meant to him, Dwayne Johnson gave the coach his actual letter of intent to play for the Hurricanes.

Twitter reacts to Jimmy Johnson’s induction to Cowboys Ring of Honor

Check out the highlights, congratulations and memories as Jimmy Johnson is inducted to the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor. | From @KDDrummondNFL

It’s finally done. After revitalizing a downtrodden franchise in a few short seasons, but seemingly being exiled after their quick divorce, Jimmy Johnson is back home. The first head coach Jerry Jones ever hired, hit rock bottom immediately, going 1-15 in his first season after leaving the University of Miami. The turnaround didn’t take long though, as the club was in the playoffs in two seasons, and earning Team of the 90s accolades just two seasons later.

Johnson took Dallas to back-to-back Super Bowl wins before his relationship with the owner deteriorated to the point the two mutually agreed to part ways. Dallas won a third Super Bowl with Johnson’s roster, but soon after started a drought that has almost reached 30 years without seeing a conferene championship game. But Johnson is now home.

At halftime of the club’s Week 17 game against the Detroit Lions, Johnson is now the 24th member of the club’s hall of fame, the Ring of Honor. Twitter reacted to the ceremony and the speech.