Jimmy Johnson
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Jimmy Johnson Head Coach – Arkansas 1989-1993 Dallas Cowboys, 1996-99 Miami Dolphins (nine seasons) Biographical Background Full Name: James William Johnson Birthdate: July 16, 1943 Birthplace: Port Arthur, Texas High School: Thomas Jefferson (Port Arthur, TX) Coaching Background: Defensive Line Coach at Louisiana Tech, 1965 • Assistant Coach at Wichita State, 1967 • Defensive Coordinator at Iowa State, 1968-1969 • Defensive Line Coach at Oklahoma, 1970-1972 • Defensive Coordinator at Arkansas, 1973-1976 • Defensive Coordinator at University of Pittsburgh, 1977-1978 • Head Coach at Oklahoma State, 1979-1983 • Head Coach at Miami (FL) 1984-1988. Coaching Record Regular Season Post-Season Overall Team Year W L T PCT. W L PCT. W L T PCT. Dallas Cowboys 1989 1 15 0 .063 Dallas Cowboys 1990 7 9 0 .438 Dallas Cowboys 1991 11 5 0 .688 1 1 .500 Dallas Cowboys 1992 13 3 0 .813 3 0 1.000 Dallas Cowboys 1993 12 4 0 .750 3 0 1.000 Miami Dolphins 1996 8 8 0 .500 Miami Dolphins 1997 9 7 0 .563 0 1 .000 Miami Dolphins 1998 10 6 0 .625 1 1 .500 Miami Dolphins 1999 9 7 0 .563 1 1 .500 TOT 80 64 0 .556 9 4 .692 89 68 0 .567 Dallas (1989-1993) 44 36 0 .550 7 1 .875 51 37 0 .580 Miami (1996-1999) 36 28 0 .563 2 3 .400 38 31 0 .551 Awards and Honors NFL Coach of the Year NFC Coach of the Year • 1990 (AP) • 1990 (UP) Championship Teams 1992 Dallas Cowboys (NFC Eastern Division, NFC, Super Bowl XXVII champions) 1993 Dallas Cowboys (NFC Eastern Division, NFC, Super Bowl XXVIII champions) Jimmy Johnson, Page 2 Championship Games 1992 NFC – Dallas Cowboys 30, San Francisco 49ers 20 1993 NFC – Dallas Cowboys 38, San Francisco 49ers 21 Super Bowls Super Bowl XXVII – Dallas Cowboys 52, Buffalo Bills 17 Super Bowl XXVIII – Dallas Cowboys 30, Buffalo Bills 13 Media Guide Excerpts 1999 Miami Dolphins Media Guide biography DOES NOT INCLUDE JOHNSON’S FINAL SEASON IN MIAMI (1999) Jimmy Johnson, Page 3 Jimmy Johnson, Page 4 1/6/2015 PRO FOOTBALL; Johnson vs. Parcells: A Battle of Commanding Coaches - The New York Times This copy is for your personal, noncommercial use only. You can order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, please click here or use the "Reprints" tool that appears next to any article. Visit www.nytreprints.com for samples and additional information. Order a reprint of this article now. » December 13, 1998 PRO FOOTBALL PRO FOOTBALL; Johnson vs. Parcells: A Battle of Com m anding Coaches By GERALD ESKENAZI MIAMI, Dec. 12— They are the only coaches in pro football who receive as much attention as the teams they run. ''This isn't about me and Jimmy Johnson,'' the Jets' Bill Parcells told the news media as he prepared -- or rather got his team to prepare -- to face the Miami Dolphins Sunday night. Parcells was suddenly so retiring that he even said that he had posed for a picture for Sports Illustrated only on the condition that the magazine not put him on its cover. When it did, he said the magazine had broken a promise. Indeed, try as he might, it has been impossible to deflect attention from these two commanding coaches. From out of the ruins of a 1-15 record in 1996, Parcells has prodded the Jets into playoff contention, with a 9-4 record and a share of first place with the Dolphins in the American Football Conference East. And Johnson has turned the Dolphins almost upside down, stamped them in his image, brought in younger players and energized them again. First he did it with the Tom Landry's Cowboys; now he has done it with Don Shula's Dolphins. No wonder these are two coaches with tremendous respect for each other. Parcells recognized Johnson's talents in his first woeful season in leading the Cowboys to a 1-15 record in 1989. ''I told other people that he was a good coach,'' Parcells said. Three years later, when Parcells was out of football and Johnson's Cowboys were 3-1 early in the season, Johnson asked Parcells for advice on how to prepare for Super Bowl week. That is how confident Johnson was, and how much respect he had for Parcells. How could the two have known then that they would become dominant figures in another conference -- one that symbolized a different brand of football but now, with New England and Buffalo only a game behind the Jets and the Dolphins, features the tightest four-team race in the http://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/13/sports/pro-football-johnson-vs-parcells-a-battle-of-commanding-coaches.html?pagewanted=print 1/3 1/6/2015 PRO FOOTBALL; Johnson vs. Parcells: A Battle of Commanding Coaches - The New York Times National Football League? In Parcells's nearly two seasons at the Jets' controls, they have produced the same record as the Dolphins: 18-11. The Jets' record over the span is even better than the Patriots team Parcells left after 1996. New England is 17-12. A Jets victory against the Dolphins would send them into the playoffs for the first time since 1991. It would also put them in this favorable position: They would need to win only one of the two final games to capture their first division championship since they were in the American Football League back in 1969. Johnson and Parcells were once the crowned heads of the National Football Conference East, which seems like a generation ago. Each won a pair of Super Bowls. Then Johnson battled Jerry Jones in Dallas and went into television. He was coaxed back into coaching when the Dolphins' owner, Wayne Huizenga, gave him complete control of the team in 1996, along with the league's highest salary for a coach-general manager, $2 million a year. Parcells chafed under the restrictions he endured at New England. He had joined the Patriots after having gone into television following his second Super Bowl victory with the Giants. But Parcells lost the total control he had been promised; the team was sold to Robert K. Kraft. The Jets offered him everything he wanted, and gave him even more money than Johnson, at $2.4 million. Both Johnson and Parcells have been concerned with the push and pull that coaching has on their lives. Parcells gave up coaching the Giants, in part, because of health concerns. He has had three heart procedures in the 1990's. During his television days, Johnson once recalled: ''When I was coaching, I had a very difficult time handling a loss, a difficult time breaking away. I lived three blocks from the office, and every day I was in town, I was there. Winning football games was what I thought about when I went to bed and when I woke up.'' Keith Byars is in the rare position of having played for both coaches. Now the Jets' fullback, Byars played under Johnson before being cut after four games in 1996. Byars has refused to talk about Johnson, saying with a smile, ''It'll be in my book.'' But before this game and this clash between coaches and teams, Byars reflected on life under both. ''Both coaches say, 'I need you to get to the other side of the wall,' '' Byars said. ''Jimmy will say, 'Go through the wall to get to the other side.' Bill will say, 'Through the wall over the wall, under the wall, around the wall, just make sure you're on the other side by 12 o'clock.' With Jimmy it's, 'There's no other way.' Bill is more adaptable than people give him credit for.'' The Jets' punter, John Kidd, has also played for both men. He is the Dolphins' record-holder for http://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/13/sports/pro-football-johnson-vs-parcells-a-battle-of-commanding-coaches.html?pagewanted=print 2/3 1/6/2015 PRO FOOTBALL; Johnson vs. Parcells: A Battle of Commanding Coaches - The New York Times highest career punting average. ''As far as their philosophy in running a team, basics, discipline, no excuses, get the job done or get out -- it's the same,'' Kidd said. ''Both guys are perceived by fans as being gruff, intimidating. People see them on television. But both of them have very positive personalities. Jimmy allows himself to be happier. ''The noticeable difference to me is this team, with guys from New England and Pepper Johnson from the Giants. There's a sense of loyalty. We just didn't get a lot of guys from Dallas. I don't know what that means.'' Kidd himself was cut by the Dolphins earlier this season because, he believes, ''I missed two weeks of training camp and with Jimmy's way of doing things, if you miss camp, you're in trouble.'' But perhaps the most succinct assessment of the two was given last year by a place-kicker named Joe Nedney, who had just been cut by the Dolphins and was given a tryout with the Jets. Asked what it was like to go from Johnson to Parcells, he said, ''Like going to a parallel universe.'' Photos: The Dolphins' Jimmy Johnson (Associated Press) and the Jets' Bill Parcells go head to head tonight. ''This isn't about me and Jimmy Johnson,'' Parcells told reporters. Their teams are tied for first place in the A.F.C. East. (Barton Silverman/The New York Times) Copyright 2015 The New York Times Company Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections XML Help Contact Us Back to Top http://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/13/sports/pro-football-johnson-vs-parcells-a-battle-of-commanding-coaches.html?pagewanted=print 3/3 1/6/2015 Deep Into His Job Jimmy Johnson dived headfirst into coaching the Cowboys, and he won't come up for air until he wins a Super Bowl | SI.com THE VAULT Print Deep Into His Job Jimmy Johnson dived headfirst into coaching the Cowboys, and he won't come up for air until he wins a Super Bowl Down near the docks in Port Arthur, Texas, a once rowdy seaport and refinery town that has seen its day, sits the public library.