The long-running disagreement between Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones on building the Cowboys into a championship team has come into focus again. Johnson shared a photo of his old Cowboys contract on X, highlighting how much control he had over the team and taking a dig at Jerry Jones. Something that is not sitting well with the Cowboys.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“The Cowboys are not happy with this post,” veteran Cowboys writer Clarence Hill Jr. wrote on X while sharing Johnson’s post that said, “Does this explain Cowboys’ responsibilities?”
“Johnson shall have the following duties,” Johnson’s contract stated. “(1) No assistant football coach, trainer, equipment man, or strength coach shall be fired or employed by Employer without the prior approval of Johnson.
“(2) Johnson shall have the right of prior approval with respect to the acquisition, releasing, and trading of all football players of the Dallas Cowboys. (3) Johnson shall have complete control of all assistant coaches, players, trainers, and equipment men during training, practice, preparation for, and the actual playing of games. Notwithstanding the foregoing, neither the assistant coaches, players.”
Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones had a long history together. They played together at Arkansas and won a national championship in 1964. Later, Jones bought the Cowboys and hired Johnson as the head coach. Johnson turned the team into the NFL’s modern dynasty by winning Super Bowls in the 1992 and 1993 seasons. But their partnership fractured over credit and control
A major reason behind their fallout was a dinner at the 1994 NFL owners’ meeting after the team’s second straight Super Bowl win in 1994, where Jimmy Johnson did not react the way Jones expected, upsetting the owner.
Later that night, Jones told reporters Ed Werder and Rick Gosselin, “There are 500 coaches who could have won the Super Bowl with our team.”
In simple words, Jones suggested that the Cowboys were so talented that any coach could have won with them. Johnson felt this insulted him and made his work look less important.
The next day, Johnson left the meeting and went back to his home in the Florida Keys. Their relationship had already suffered from disagreements over control and credit, and this incident made things worse. About a week later, Johnson and Jones agreed to end their working relationship, and Johnson left the Cowboys.
Since then, the debate over who built the championship team seems to have no end.