Whenever you hear the name Jimmy Johnson, it is always the Dallas Cowboys that everyone associates him with. Johnson was credited with kick-starting the Cowboys dynasty in the early 1990s. Although his first season as the Cowboys’ head coach didn’t go well, with a record of 1-15, it didn’t take long for Johnson to develop a championship-winning team in Dallas. He led the Cowboys to two consecutive Super Bowl wins in 1992 and 1993 before parting ways shortly after. Once Johnson’s storied tenure in the Lone Star State came to an end, nobody really thought he would coach again until the Miami Dolphins came around.
It was kind of a deja vu situation for Jimmy Johnson when he took the Dolphins job in 1996. He was already known for replacing legendary coach Tom Landry in Dallas and performing exceptionally. So, given his strong resume, the Dolphins decided to bring him on to replace another legendary head coach, Don Shula. Shula chose to retire after a disappointing 1995 season, during which his Dolphins finished with a 9-7 record and suffered a blowout loss against the Bills in the playoffs. In hopes of mounting a quick turnaround, the Dolphins took Johnson out of his Fox Sports studio.
After a two-year coaching hiatus, Johnson accepted the Dolphins’ challenge. His tenure in Miami started off in the best possible way with a victory over Bill Parcells’ Patriots. During the week 1 game against the Patriots, Johnson’s Dolphins blew their AFC East rivals out of the water. This saw them record a convincing 24-10 victory in front of their home crowd. Johnson, who is now long-retired from coaching and even broadcasting, came across a throwback video from his first game as Dolphins coach. Seeing the clips from that game, Johnson reposted the video from Vintage NFL, captioning “Memories!” That first game was obviously a good memory for Johnson to cherish. However, as the season progressed, those memories turned into nightmares.
Memories! https://t.co/dPcmtmqKnz
— Jimmy Johnson (@JimmyJohnson) May 30, 2025
Johnson’s Dolphins only managed to win 7 more games for the rest of the season. They finished with an 8-8 record, missing the postseason as a result. Johnson is even said to regret his decision to take the Dolphins job at that time. Another former head coach, Brian Billick, once opened up about how Johnson allowed his ego to dictate that decision instead of looking at other intangibles. “I was one of them. I went back for the wrong reasons. If you go back for ego, if you go back for money, it’s the wrong reason,” Johnson once said.
Jimmy Johnson may not have won a Super Bowl in Miami, but he did manage to deliver regular success. Leaving aside his first season, the Dolphins recorded 3 consecutive postseason appearances. He ended with an overall record of 36-28 in his 4 seasons with the Phins. Though Johnson’s time in Miami didn’t go in his favor, the first victory he earned against Parcells was also the beginning of the end of his Patriots tenure.
Jimmy Johnson’s Dolphins start hits Bill Parcells in his guts
Johnson was already a winner in Dallas before taking the reins of the Dolphins. And somewhat similar to him was Bill Parcells. He, too, was a Super Bowl winner with the Giants before taking the Patriots job. At that time, the Patriots were coming off a dreadful 1992 season, during which they managed only two wins out of 16. So, in hopes of turning the franchise around. Parcells was given complete autonomy in Foxborough. And within two years, he coached a team that played its first playoff game in 8 years. Building on the success in 1994, the Patriots won their first division title in 11 years in 1996.
However, surprisingly, that ended up being the last year of Parcells in New England. Even after he led the Pats to Super Bowl XXXI, Parcells left Foxborough the following season. Citing that his and Kraft’s vision didn’t match at all. Parcells decided to move on and accept a completely new challenge in the AFC East itself. In 1997, he joined the Jets and instantly turned them into regular contenders. A team that had a one-win season prior to his arrival went on to play in the AFC Championship game in his second year.
This illustrates the significant impact that coaches like Bill Parcells and Jimmy Johnson once had on the game. Now that both are long retired, they have nothing but memories to remember.
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