Jimmy Johnson, the Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame coach who received two Tremendous Bowls and a university nationwide championship, has introduced his retirement from Fox Sports activities after being part of its NFL protection for many of the community’s 31 years.
The 81-year-old Johnson made the announcement Monday throughout an look on “The Herd With Colin Cowherd.”
“Essentially the most enjoyable I ever had in my profession, that is counting Tremendous Bowls and nationwide championships, was at Fox Sports activities,” he stated, including that he liked working for CEO Eric Shanks and Fox NFL Sunday producer Invoice Richards.
“However I’ve made a particularly tough determination,” he stated. “I have been desirous about it for the final 4 or 5 years and I’ve determined to retire from Fox. I will miss it. I will miss all the blokes. I will see them often. It has been an incredible run beginning 31 years in the past.”
Johnson labored alongside hosts Curt Menefee and Terry Bradshaw and analysts Howie Lengthy and Michael Strahan. Johnson did two stints with Fox totaling 25 years. He was employed for the pregame present in 1994 and spent two seasons earlier than leaving to grow to be the overall supervisor and coach of the Miami Dolphins in 1996.
Johnson was with the Dolphins for 5 seasons and returned to Fox in 2002.
“Jimmy Johnson was there when Fox NFL Sunday got here on-air for the primary time 31 years in the past, and since then has been a cherished member of our Fox Sports activities household, which makes right this moment’s retirement information bittersweet,” Shanks stated in an announcement posted to social media. “Jimmy served as an inspiration to generations of soccer followers together with his legendary swagger, one-of-a-kind perception and signature humor.”
Johnson made the cross-country journey weekly through the season for a few years from his dwelling in Key West, Florida, to Los Angeles. In latest seasons, he would solely to journey to Los Angeles for the Sundays when Fox had a doubleheader and would work the opposite weeks from dwelling.
“We caught lightning in a bottle,” Lengthy stated Monday by cellphone. “Chemistry is tough to forecast and duplicate. We got here out of the gate at No. 1 and it has been that approach for 31 years. We have grown to like each other. And the factor I am going again to is what I stated to him as he had been strolling off the sector [at the Super Bowl]. I’ve by no means seen him this completely happy.”
Menefee stated Johnson knowledgeable him final week about his determination. Menefee added that two years in the past the crew had what was regarded as a going-away dinner for Johnson in Los Angeles on the finish of the season, however that Johnson later opted to return.
“The explanation he did resolve to come back again earlier than was as a result of there was a hesitation. This time he was one hundred pc assured that that is the correct factor for him to do presently and together with his household,” Menefee stated by cellphone. “I believe all of us hope we get to exit into the sundown the way in which that we wish, and he actually has been in a position to try this.”
Johnson received Tremendous Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys for the 1992-93 seasons and the faculty soccer nationwide championship with Miami in 1987. He was inducted into the Corridor of Fame in 2020.
Menefee stated the announcement of Johnson’s induction throughout halftime of an NFC divisional-round recreation in January 2020 stays one of many high moments since Fox Sports activities started carrying the NFL in 1994.
“I do not assume there’s something that we’ve accomplished within the 31 years of Fox Sports activities has been remotely near that, as a result of I believe not solely did it imply a lot to Jimmy, you noticed how a lot it meant to the individuals who care about Jimmy,” Menefee stated Monday afternoon by cellphone. “I believe all the pieces that Fox Sports activities is received encapsulated in that one second for the entire world to see.”
Johnson coached the Cowboys for 5 seasons, stepping down after profitable his second Lombardi Trophy and three months later getting employed as a Fox NFL pregame present analyst. Johnson’s break up with Cowboys proprietor Jerry Jones was acrimonious, and it wasn’t till Dec. 30, 2023, that Jones put Johnson within the workforce’s ring of honor. Johnson and Tom Landry are the one coaches alongside the 19 gamers and two executives within the unique group of one of many NFL’s storied franchises.
Johnson’s teaching profession began in 1965 as an assistant at Louisiana Tech, Bradshaw’s alma mater. He turned a head coach for the primary time in 1979 at Oklahoma State and left after 5 years for Miami, the place he went 52-9 with two No. 2 finishes to go together with his 1987 title.
“It has been 17 seasons of enjoyable and laughs sitting subsequent to you,” Strahan posted on X. “You are actually one in all a form and thanks for being you and gifting me with among the finest friendships anybody may ever ask for. Hope you take pleasure in fishing and ingesting beers on the boat. You deserve it, love you Coach!”
Congratulations in your retirement @JimmyJohnson ! It has been 17 seasons of enjoyable and laughs sitting subsequent to you. You are actually one in all a form and thanks for being you and gifting me with among the finest friendships anybody may ever ask for. Hope you take pleasure in fishing and ingesting… pic.twitter.com/bYGRhVAegu
— Michael Strahan (@michaelstrahan) March 3, 2025
Johnson reposted Strahan’s properly needs and added a message: “Michael, going to overlook sitting subsequent to you however I will be watching.”
