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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones knows how to make news. Jones created headlines by doing a live appearance on “Fox NFL Sunday” to announce former head coach Jimmy Johnson’s upcoming induction into the team’s Ring of Honor.
The announcement came minutes before the Cowboys were set to kickoff against the Carolina Panthers in Week 11. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill Jr. labeled the move as “very disrespectful,” pondering whether the announcement would serve as a distraction.
“This is very disrespectful for the Cowboys to make this announcement at Carolina and at their stadium 20 minutes before kickoff,” Hill tweeted on November 19. “It says the game is not important. I hope the players don’t have the same mindset.”
Hill’s point of view can be debated, but it is hard to argue that the announcement had any impact on the game. Dallas came away with a 33-10 blowout victory over Carolina. There is also a good chance few of the players even knew the Johnson announcement was happening.
Cowboys News: Jimmy Johnson Will Join the Ring of Honor During the Dallas-Detroit Matchup on December 30
Criticism of Jones’ timing for the announcement is fair because the Cowboys owner has pushed a decision about Johnson’s inclusion in the Ring of Honor down the road for years. Johnson, currently a studio analyst on “Fox NFL Sunday,” won two Super Bowls in five years as coach of the Cowboys.
No one knows how to create headlines quite like Jones. Making the announcement minutes before a matchup against one of the worst NFL teams does seem orchestrated. But just because something is orchestrated does not make it disrespectful. Johnson, 80, will officially be inducted during the Cowboys’ prime-time matchup against the Detroit Lions on Saturday, December 30.
“The communication was so good in the early days,” Johnson said during the announcement on Fox. “The only problem we had was there towards the end. We stopped talking a bit. But I tell ya what, we’re talking now and we’re friendly now.”
The Dallas Cowboys Nearly Inducted Jimmy Johnson Into the Ring of Honor on Several Previous Occasions
Johnson was spotted hanging out with Jones in a suite during the Cowboys-Panthers matchup. As for the timing, Jones cited wanting to make the announcement during a Dallas game on Fox.
The Cowboys owner wanted the event to happen in 2023, thus explaining the announcement taking place on the road. Sports Illustrated’s Mike Fisher reported that the Cowboys were close to inducting Johnson on several previous occasions.
“We think it’s important to note that two sources tell CowboysSI.com that such an enshrinement has ‘come close’ to happening twice in the last seven years. … So maybe the bitterness wasn’t as deep as it seemed,” Fisher wrote on November 19.
“Sources tell us that even as Jerry is the Ring’s ‘one-man committee,’ the Jones family and the organization considered putting Jimmy into the Ring that season before determining collectively that 2017 should be ‘Jerry’s year.’ (‘It’s own special attention.’) That was one occasion of a Johnson honor having ‘come close.’
“Many wonder why there was ever a problem, and why there would continue to be one. From the Jones family’s perspective, it comes down to a simple word: ‘Disloyalty.'”
Jimmy Johnson Coached the Dallas Cowboys From 1989 to 1993 Winning 2 Super Bowl Titles
Overall, the majority of the reaction to Johnson’s long awaited induction has been positive. Cowboys fans have been pushing for this to happen for some time.
Johnson served as the Cowboys head coach from 1989 to 1993 before having a falling out with Jones. The former coach was one of the best in franchise history, leading Dallas to back-to-back Super Bowl titles during the 1992 and 1993 seasons.
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