Jimmy Johnson this week announced his retirement from Fox Sports, where he was an NFL analyst for 31 years.
Vikings fans know him for orchestrating one of the greatest thefts in sports history: the trade of Herschel Walker to the Vikings for seven high draft picks and a handful of players.
Johnson’s departure from the public square elicited dozens of memories.
My first professional sports beat was the 1989 Dallas Cowboys. One of my first pro sports assignments was trying to find Johnson and incoming Cowboys owner Jerry Jones the night before Jones was to announce the hiring of Johnson and the firing of legendary coach Tom Landry.
How popular was Landry? Imagine Bud Grant with two Super Bowl rings, in a more populous state, with a national fan base.
Jones became an instant villain, and the large staff of the Dallas Morning News went out looking for him. Our college football writer, the great Ivan Maisel, found the two laughing it up over drinks. The resulting photo dominated the paper’s front page the next day and solidified Jones’ reputation as a franchise destroyer.
Jimmy Johnson, left, and Jerry Jones, dining out on February 24, 1989, the night before Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys and replaced head coach Tom Landry with Johnson. (J. Mark Kegans/Dallas Morning News)
Over the next few months, the Cowboys beat writers got to know Johnson. He was a blast.
He went out for drinks with us (sometimes drinking Heineken over ice) and proved honest, down-to-earth and funny. His assistant coaches, most of whom came with him from Miami, were happy to have tied their careers to him. He inspired loyalty.