‘Greatest head coach I’ve ever played for!’ Dallas Cowboys stars celebrate Jimmy Johnson
No one was happier to see Jimmy Johnson get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame than his former players.
Many of the Dallas Cowboys stars of the Super Bowl teams Johnson coached in the 1990s celebrated the news with as much emotion as the former coach. That included the three biggest stars of those Cowboys teams — all three Hall of Famers — Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irving. They were known as ‘The Triplets.’
“Congratulations to the greatest head coach I’ve ever played for! Welcome to the Hall,” Smith posted on Twitter.
Aikman teared up live on a Fox camera while watching Johnson learn he was in the Hall. Irvin said he was in tears, too.
“With tears in my eyes I watched my coach @JimmyJohnson get what he so rightfully earned,” Irvin posted. “My Coach has turned men into CHAMPIONS on every level. Congrats Coach and welcome to the @ProFootballHOF!!!!!”
Aikman posted a story on Instagram describing how he first met Johnson while playing at Henryetta High School in Oklahoma. Aikman explains how he twice turned down Johnson’s scholarship offers, first to Oklahoma State and then to Miami.
“I was 17 while he was the head coach at Oklahoma State. Two years later when I was transferring from Oklahoma, he recruited me to the University of Miami. I chose UCLA,” Aikman wrote. “After turning him down twice, the Dallas Cowboys chose me as the #1 overall draft pick in 1989.”
Aikman and Johnson went 1-15 their first season in ‘89 and “went through some difficult times, had stretches when we didn’t speak,” he said. “What I’ve learned though in life is we remember those who make us better. Jimmy made me better, but more importantly, he made the Dallas Cowboys better. He was the architect of our 1990’s dynasty and while as our leader and coach, he should have been the first to be enshrined.”
This story was originally published January 14, 2020 at 10:39 AM.
