The induction of Jimmy Johnson into the Cowboys‘ Ring of Honor marked a pivotal moment for all Dallas fans. It has been almost three decades since he willingly or unwillingly moved on from the team and the question of him getting inducted lingered for year after year until fans felt that it would probably never happen. Well, the moment has finally come, but Dallas superfan Skip Bayless is very surprised why the former HC decided to accept it.
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Skip’s hesitancy can somewhat be justified since it was Johnson who built the team from the ground up after Jerry Jones took over in 1989. After a breathtaking 7-1 postseason record and two back-to-back Lombardies, Johnson departed for Miami, and to this day, there haven’t been any proper explanations for why. Could it be a fight over control or a tussle over credit? Now that Johnson has been inducted, he’ll probably take it to his grave.
The ‘Undisputed’ host took to X (formerly Twitter) with a theory about Johnson’s induction that has sparked mixed reactions from fans. In his tweet, he voiced his confusion about the former HC accepting to get inducted despite getting punished by Jerry for ‘all these years’. He then put forward the claim that former Cowboys legends — Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith, and Troy Aikman were the ones who convinced Jerry to move on from the past.
“I’m a little surprised Jimmy agreed to be inducted into the Ring of Honor after Jerry punished him all these years. But Michael/Troy/Emmitt were able to persuade Jerry into finally forgiving and forgetting and making this right, finally.”
Skip’s tweet has garnered intense reactions from the NFL world. The majority of fans disagreed with the sportscaster and felt that it was a good thing that both Jerry and Johnson came around. One of them even took a dig at Skip’s claim about former Cowboys players convincing the owner. He wrote, “It took them 30 years ”
Another fan expressed happiness that Jimmy Johnson and Jerry were able to resolve the feud until it was ‘too late’.
A fan was rather disappointed by the lack of public action in the longstanding disagreement.
https://twitter.com/Thomas_Buckner/status/1741290182609883490
A fan thought Jerry was to blame for the tangled situation.
The induction news initially broke out back in November when the Cowboys were clashing with the Panthers. Jerry even sent football fans into a frenzy after mistakenly announcing the date of the ceremony on December 30, 1923, instead of 2023.
Jimmy Johnson Delivers an Emotional Ring of Honor Speech
In a grand spectacle at the AT&T Stadium, fans gathered in anticipation for the Ring of Honor inductee to take center stage. There were also Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson, and Charles Haley present at the ceremony, who had already been honored with the Ring of Honor and were instrumental in building America’s Team in the ’90s. The Cowboys owner went on to introduce his former head coach with a beautiful speech. He said,
“Not only did you inspire your players, and certainly you inspired our fans, but you need to hear how much you personally inspired me,” as per Yahoo Sports.
Then came the better part of the ceremony as the former Dallas Cowboys head coach delivered his acceptance speech. Johnson expressed heartfelt gratitude towards Jones, emphasizing their collaborative journey.
“Jerry and I worked shoulder-to-shoulder. 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 90’s,” Johnson said.
While expressing his thanks to the fans, Johnson playfully thanked the naysayers as well, who made the Dallas Cowboys stronger than ever. Then a resounding moment struck the AT&T spectators as he once again delivered the Cowboys cheer, “How ‘bout them Cowboys!”
One might question Jimmy Johnson’s coaching stint at Miami, but his contributions to the Cowboys will forever be etched in the history books. After his departure, the team managed to win only one Super Bowl in 1996. They have yet to make an appearance since then.
