The Dallas Cowboys added another name to the Ring of Honor at AT&T Stadium before Saturday night’s regular-season home finale against the Detroit Lions, as two-time Super Bowl champion head coach Jimmy Johnson became the latest legend enshrined in the illustrious group.
Johnson is the second inductee to join the club this season, as Hall-of-Fame pass-rusher Demarcus Ware was added during the team’s Thursday night win over the Seattle Seahawks last month. Johnson was the 24th member of the Ring of Honor and the second coach to receive the recognition.
“It was even more special,” Jones told reporters after the game. “We had a lot of those guys who played on those teams out there that were already a part of the Ring of Honor and that wanted to see Jimmy in the Ring of Honor. You could tell how the love and how excited they were for him, and [it was] very deserving and the right thing.”
Johnson, a former college teammate of Jones at the University of Arkansas, was the first head coach the owner hired when he bought the franchise in 1989, leaving a successful run as head coach of the University of Miami (FL) to do so. He spent five years at the helm of the Cowboys, leading the team to back-to-back Super Bowl titles and its first 13-win season before parting ways in March 1994.
He later returned to the NFL with the Miami Dolphins for four seasons but remains best known on the field as the leader of the Dallas Cowboys dynasty of the 1990s.
“People have asked what this means to me,” Johnson told the crowd. “I’m so very, very proud. Proud of what we accomplished, and when I say we, [it includes] a lot of people, but more than anyone else, thank you, Jerry Jones, for bringing me to the Dallas Cowboys.”
“… We took a team that was the worst in the NFL, and in a short time, we won Super Bowls and became the team of the 90s,” he continued. “I want to thank some outstanding assistant coaches and some great players. You weren’t great when we were 1-15, but when we held the trophy up, you were fantastic. I know at times you thought I was a tyrant and an a-hole, but you never turned on me because you knew we were on the right path.”
Much has been made of the tension between Jones and Johnson since the coach’s departure, but Ware’s ceremony convinced Jones to put his longtime friend in the Ring of Honor, making an announcement on Fox’s weekly NFL pregame show and further defusing any tension between the two during Saturday’s ceremony.
“Jimmy, we want you to know that not only did you inspire your players, and certainly you inspired the fans, but you need to hear me say how much you personally inspired me. Always,” Jones said. “So for now and evermore, Jimmy Johnson’s going to be right here with Tom Landry and going to be right here with some of the greatest names in the history [of the Dallas Cowboys] — rightfully so. Welcome to the Ring of Honor.”
As for Saturday’s game, the Cowboys got a phenomenal performance from wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and held on for a 20-19 win as Detroit’s potential game-winning two-point conversion attempt ultimately fell short after a controversial call.
The Cowboys (11-5) will finish their regular season on the road against the Washington Commanders (4-11) on Sunday, January 7, before entering the playoffs as either the top NFC wildcard team or the NFC East champion.
