Jimmy Johnson latest to get Hall call for 2020
Former Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson on Sunday was officially named as the second member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s centennial class.
Hall of Fame president David Baker made the announcement to Johnson during Fox Sports’ halftime show just before the start of the second half of the NFC divisional-round game between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks.
Johnson, a Fox analyst, won two Super Bowls with the Cowboys and built the bulk of the roster that won a third title for the team after his departure.
He was clearly emotional upon receiving the news Sunday, as was his former quarterback Troy Aikman, who could be seen tearing up as he heard the announcement from Green Bay, where he was announcing the playoff game.
Incredible moment.
Legendary @dallascowboys coach @JimmyJohnson finds out live on TV he is the newest member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame! pic.twitter.com/GK3jlSlWRz
A look at @TroyAikman‘s reaction to his former coach @JimmyJohnson joining the Hall of Fame. #FootballIsFamily pic.twitter.com/8Y8Go8wIni
“The only thing I can think of is all of the assistant coaches that worked for me, all the great players that played for me, they’re the reason I’m here,” a choked-up Johnson said after Baker told him he was a Hall of Famer. “I can’t talk. This is so special.”
The Hall’s centennial class was selected by a blue-ribbon panel this past week, and the remainder of the 15-member class will be revealed Wednesday. Baker announced Saturday that former Steelers coach Bill Cowher also would be enshrined as part of the centennial class.
When fully revealed, the centennial class will include 10 seniors candidates, as well as three contributors to go with Cowher and Johnson. The class was chosen as part of the NFL’s 100th anniversary.
The blue-ribbon panel — which included members of the Hall’s board of selectors, league historians, Hall of Famers, as well as New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick — chose the class from a list of 38 finalists during a meeting at the Hall of Fame on Wednesday.
The 38 finalists were chosen from a list of almost 300 nominees over the course of the past five months.
The Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020 — comprised of modern-era players — will be selected Feb. 1 in Miami Beach, Florida, the day before Super Bowl LIV.
The Cowboys went 1-15 in Johnson’s first season as coach in 1989 but steadily improved until the team won back-to-back Super Bowls in his fourth and fifth years. The Cowboys went 36-12 in Johnson’s last three seasons in Dallas, winning two Super Bowls.
Johnson and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones clashed following the 1993 season, and Barry Switzer directed Dallas to a Super Bowl win to close out the 1995 season with a roster largely assembled by Johnson.
Johnson’s work not only as a coach, but as a personnel evaluator, was cited in his case for Canton. He is often credited for the draft chart that used a point value for each draft pick to determine what selections should be used in trades.
Every team uses some version of the chart in its draft preparations. In his most notable trades for the Cowboys, Johnson dealt running back Herschel Walker and quarterback Steve Walsh after his arrival, and those trades netted him four first-round picks, four second-rounders and two third-rounders.
Overall with Dallas, he drafted 18 players who went on to start in Super Bowls,15 players who were named to the Pro Bowl and three players who eventually were named Super Bowl MVPs. In his four-year tenure with the Dolphins, he drafted four players who went on to a combined 19 Pro Bowls (Zach Thomas, Jason Taylor, Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain), and none of the four was a first-round pick.