Dallas Cowboys legend Michael Irvin, who spent 12 seasons playing for the team, has dropped an anecdote that perfectly describes the franchise’s former head coach, Jimmy Johnson’s intense leadership tactics. When FanUp, Inc.’s Digital Media Strategist, Peighton Tubre asked Irvin to pick a dish to represent his former coach, the 3× Super Bowl champion did not miss a beat.
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“I would have to call it the ‘Fire Hot Wing’ because Jimmy was always setting a hot fire under your a** if you know what I mean,” said the ex-wide receiver.
In line with this discussion, Irvin then narrated a story from his playing era when he recalled how the 1990 AP NFL Coach of the Year would grill them after a loss during post-game flights.
Irvin described how players would eat their pregame meal hours before the game, and by the time they boarded the flight afterward, the entire team would be hungry. However, if the Dallas Cowboys lost, Johnson wouldn’t allow the players to have food, even declaring that they didn’t deserve to eat.
Two decades have passed since Irvin retired from the league, but the ex-WR still vividly remembers the desperation of those moments. “Oh my God, this is abuse,” he joked.
Well, Johnson’s strategy of forbidding food worked more like a psychological tool. Fearing they wouldn’t get a meal after a loss, Irvin would remind his teammates about their fate, especially during the fourth quarter of tight games, saying:
“Are we gonna eat after this game or not? Are we gonna starve today?”
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Looking back, Jimmy Johnson’s ruthless scheme of keeping his players hungry after a loss was all about keeping the team “hungry” for wins—both literally and figuratively.
They did win two Super Bowls together in Dallas; however, the storied chapters in the NFL were marked by a bitter end when the former head coach had some disagreements with owner Jerry Jones. This, however, has since been resolved and gone in a positive direction.
Time healed the rift between Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones
In 1989, when Jerry Jones purchased the Dallas Cowboys with $140 million, he replaced Tom Landry with his long-time friend and ex-University of Arkansas teammate, Jimmy Johnson.
Under Johnson, the team, including players like Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin, won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1992 and 1993. However, in spite of the championship titles, Johnson and Jones’s rapport grew bitter, and they ultimately split in 1994.
Reportedly, Jones was the GM of the Cowboys, and he entrusted Johnson with the control of football operations. But as the team scaled new heights, so did the Jones’ desire to assume more control, which eventually led to the separation.
The friendship likely reached its lowest point after Dallas’ second Super Bowl win when Jones claimed that any head coach could have led the team to a championship title. Unsurprisingly, such a statement infuriated Johnson, leading to his departure and a $2 million severance package.
Moving on, Jones next hired another former Arkansas teammate, Barry Switzer, to replace Johnson. Although under Switzer the Cowboys won the Super Bowl in 1996, the team never fully recaptured its previous glory. In fact, with each passing season, their performance declined, and they continue to face a championship drought.
Sadly, for many years, due to lingering bitterness, the Dallas Cowboys snubbed Johnson’s contributions from the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor. It was not until 2021 when Jerry Jones finally announced Johnson’s induction, with the ceremony taking place on December 30, 2023, during a Cowboys game against the Detroit Lions.
Since his Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor induction, the former head coach has mended his differences with the 81-year Cowboys owner.
“Since the Ring of Honor, I am on his (Jerry Jones’) advisory board now… Everything is hunky dory,” Johnson told Joe Rose on WQAM 560 AM in February.
Reflecting nostalgically on their golden days, he shared how he and Jones worked tirelessly together and how their bond thrived on success, not animosity.
So, with Johnson “back in the fold,” it could be the beginning of another stellar era for Dallas. After all, when Jimmy and Jerry collaborate, extraordinary things have happened!
