By Marvin Moore August 25, 2023
Hall of Fame pass rusher DeMarcus Ware will become the 23rd member of the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor this season. The Cowboys’ all-time sack leader, Ware is more than deserving of joining the exclusive club. But so is the second-winningest coach in franchise history, Jimmy Johnson.
Johnson was the architect of a pair of Super Bowl-winning squads, and many fans believe Dallas would have won several more Vince Lombardi Trophies in the 1990s if not for the ego of Cowboys’ owner and general manager Jerry Jones. Johnson left the organization a month after leading America’s Team to its second consecutive NFL title in 1994.
Dallas won the Super Bowl again in 1995 with the same talent Johnson had assembled. But with Jones calling the shots, the Cowboys have not reached the NFC Championship game in 27 years. Although Jones has built the team into the most valuable sports franchise in the world, valued at $8 billion, his tenure as general manager has been a colossal failure.
The scandal-plagued executive promised to put his former head coach in the Ring of Honor after Johnson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame two years ago. However, Jones has yet to make good on his word and seems determined to allow his pettiness to rob Cowboys’ fans of a memorable celebration.
It’s no secret that Johnson remains more popular with the team’s fan base than Jones, which certainly plays a role in the ego-fueled decisions of a bitter owner. Jones does not want to see the admiration that rabid Dallas fans will shower on Johnson at AT&T Stadium. And it’s a good bet that the beloved 80-year-old coach will never be inducted into the Ring of Honor while he is still alive.
Five players – Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Charles Haley, and Darren Woodson – who played for Johnson have been added to the prestigious club. Yet the man responsible for a large part of their success on the field remains missing in action. It’s not just shameful and embarrassing. It’s a stain on the history of the franchise.
No matter how much Jones attempts to trivialize Johnson’s contributions during his five seasons roaming the sidelines at Texas Stadium, it’s a sad act that only exposes his fragile ego. Johnson was the mastermind who transformed the league’s worst team into back-to-back Super Bowl champs. Period. Everyone, including Jones, knows this as a fact.
Dallas fans have suffered for nearly three decades with little playoff success under Jones’ watch. He has proven incompetent at hiring coaches and has no clue how to build a championship team. But instead of rewarding a loyal fan base with a celebration that is long overdue, the 81-year-old despot continues to allow jealousy to deny Johnson his rightful place among Cowboys’ legends.
Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Every time Jones puts someone else in the Ring of Honor, it highlights the absence of Johnson. It also exposes Jones as a “little” man who doesn’t give a damn about the fans or what’s best for the organization. He is living proof that all the money in the world cannot heal a bruised ego.
