Frisco, Texas — Jimmie Johnson and the Dallas Cowboys have been hard at work repairing their relationship lately. The highly publicized breakup occurred decades ago in the early 1990s, when Johnson, along with owner and general manager Jerry Jones, led the franchise to two Super Bowl championships.
In 2023, Jones inducted Johnson into the team's coveted Ring of Honor at halftime of a Week 17 game against the Detroit Lions, resolving a long-standing rift. The two have continually maintained that there were no intense feelings, and whether that's entirely true or just the sound of an ax being buried, the fact is that they are now on good terms.
Well, according to Johnson, to say they just talk might be an understatement.
“Ever since Ring of Honor, I'm now on his Jerry Jones advisory board,” Johnson said, perhaps joking a bit about having the actual title. told Joe Rose.[WQAM 560 AM in Miami**.
Granted, Johnson was enjoying a hefty chuckle while saying that, but the underlying point regarding the mended relationship hits home; and it’s clear Johnson and Jones are also indeed back to talking football — the former willing to again lend advice to the Cowboys.
“We were talking on the phone about an hour after his Green Bay loss, and he was talking about what all he needed to do because he had big decisions on Mike McCarthy and Dan Quinn and Dak Prescott,” Johnson added. “Everything is hunky dory now. I am back in the fold with the Cowboys.”
It’s unlikely you’ll get confirmation that Johnson is officially back in the organization in any capacity when factoring in his contractual commitment to broadcasting, but nothing says he can’t offer up a listening ear and his opinions of the team to an old buddy of his in Jones.
It felt like an inevitable next step in their evolution after hearing Johnson’s pre-ceremony comments on the Cowboys’ owner.
“The two of us were working around the clock, together,” he said of Jones in their dynasty years together. “People don’t realize the relationship [we have]. At that time, Jerry and I talked every day. Every day I was in his office. And we never had any disagreements. This is surprising to many, but we have always had the same idea.
“And that's probably where some of the tension happened at the end of my career. As for the Cowboys, we didn't talk much because we were so busy going in different directions. Against Jerry. My feelings have never changed. I love you.'' That guy.
“He’s probably been the biggest part of my entire career.”
So the latest chapter in this thrilling story is one of mended fences, handshakes and hugs.
And for those who have long thought the Cowboys' championship drought was due to a curse supposedly stemming from the way Johnson left Dallas, it's good to see the legendary head coach immortalized. Not only that, but we hear he's “coming back” to help the Cowboys grow.
And if the past is any indicator, historic events usually happen when Johnson and Jones put aside their differences and align their ideas.
Maybe, just maybe, we'll find DeLoreans and flux capacitors in 2024.