“The most fun I ever had in my career, that's counting Super Bowls and national championships, was at Fox Sports,” he said, adding that he loved working for CEO Eric Shanks and Fox NFL Sunday producer Bill Richards.
“But I've made an extremely difficult decision,” he said. “I've been thinking about it for the last four or five years and I've decided to retire from Fox. I'm going to miss it. I'm going to miss all the guys. I'll see them occasionally. It's been a great run starting 31 years ago.”
Johnson worked alongside hosts Curt Menefee and Terry Bradshaw and analysts Howie Long and Michael Strahan. Johnson did two stints with Fox totaling 25 years. He was hired for the pregame show in 1994 and spent two seasons before leaving to become the general manager and head coach of the Miami Dolphins in 1996.
Johnson was with the Dolphins for five seasons and returned to Fox in 2002.
"Jimmy Johnson was there when Fox NFL Sunday came on-air for the first time 31 years ago, and since then has been a cherished member of our Fox Sports family, which makes today's retirement news bittersweet," Shanks said in a statement posted to social media. "Jimmy served as an inspiration to generations of football fans with his legendary swagger, one-of-a-kind insight and signature humor."
Johnson made the cross-country trip weekly during the season for many years from his home in Key West, Florida, to Los Angeles. In recent seasons, he would only to travel to Los Angeles for the Sundays when Fox had a doubleheader and would work the other weeks from home.
“We caught lightning in a bottle. Chemistry is hard to forecast and duplicate. We came out of the gate at number one and it’s been that way for 31 years,” Long said Monday by phone. “We’ve grown to love one another. And the thing I go back to is what I said to him as he were walking off the field (at the Super Bowl). I've never seen him this happy.”
Menefee said Johnson informed him last week about his decision. Menefee added that two years ago the crew had what was thought to be a going-away dinner for Johnson in Los Angeles at the end of the season, but that Johnson later opted to return.
“The reason he did decide to come back before was because there was a hesitation. This time he was 100 percent confident that this is the right thing for him to do at this time and with his family,” Menefee said by phone. “I think we all hope we get to go out into the sunset the way that we want, and he certainly has been able to do that.”
Johnson won Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys in the 1992 and ’93 seasons and the college football national championship with Miami in 1987. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020.
Menefee said the announcement of Johnson's induction during halftime of an NFC divisional-round game in January 2020 remains one of the top moments since Fox Sports began carrying the NFL in 1994.
“I don’t think there's anything that we have done in the 31 years of Fox Sports has been remotely close to that, because I think not only did it mean so much to Jimmy, you saw how much it meant to the people who care about Jimmy," Menefee said. "I think everything that Fox Sports is got encapsulated in that one moment for the whole world to see.”
Johnson coached the Cowboys for five seasons, stepping down after winning his second Lombardi Trophy, and three months later was hired by Fox as a pregame show analyst. Johnson's split with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was acrimonious, and it wasn't until Dec. 30, 2023, that Jones put Johnson in the team’s ring of honor. Johnson and Tom Landry are the only coaches alongside the 19 players and two executives in the exclusive group of one of the NFL’s storied franchises.
Johnson's coaching career started in 1965 as an assistant at Louisiana Tech, Bradshaw's alma mater. He became a head coach for the first time in 1979, at Oklahoma State, and left after five years for Miami, where he went 52-9 with two No. 2 finishes to go with his 1987 title.
"It has been 17 seasons of fun and laughs sitting next to you," Strahan posted on X. "You're truly one of a kind and thanks for being you and gifting me with one of the best friendships anyone could ever ask for. Hope you enjoy fishing and drinking beers on the boat. You deserve it, love you Coach!"
Johnson reposted Strahan's well wishes and added a message: "Michael, going to miss sitting next to you but I'll be watching."
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Credit: AP
Credit: AP