A few years ago, when WWE superstar and actor Dwayne Johnson surprised the 2x Super Bowl-winning coach Jimmy Johnson on the FOX NFL Sunday set in Los Angeles, the meeting instantly led to an iconic TV moment. The former college DT and WWE superstar made a surprise broadcast appearance to honor Coach Johnson following his Cowboys Ring of Honor induction.

“I’m in Los Angeles, and they surprised me. ‘The Rock’ Dwayne Johnson came out and, you know, he said, ‘Coach, I want to tell you a story. He said, ‘You know, I went through some struggles in my early life when I was in high school. Actually arrested many times, on and on. And so the coach came up to me and said, ‘Hey, listen, I’ve got to get you involved in football.’ He said, ‘So I got involved in football and started watching football, and I(Dwayne Johnson) said, ‘Listen, I’ve got a goal. I want to go to the University of Miami and play for Jimmy Johnson.’ And, you know, it brought tears to my eyes. You know, he said, ‘That’s what straightened out my life,'” Jimmy Johnson told KFDM News in an Exclusive interview.

As a teen growing up in Pennsylvania, Dwayne Johnson was repeatedly apprehended by the police until Jodi Cwik, his high school football coach at Freedom High School in Bethlehem, asked him to play football.

‘The Rock’ would go on to earn a full athletic scholarship to ‘The U’ and play as a freshman reserve DT on the Miami Hurricanes’ 1991 unbeaten side that went on to lift the NCAA Championship 12-0. He recorded 77 combined tackles and 4.5 sacks in 39 career games for the Hurricanes, a solid contribution.

“And he (Dwayne Johnson) said, ‘Hey, then you end up going to the Dallas Cowboys. You left the University of Miami, but I still went to the University of Miami because of you.’ He said, ‘And you were a big part of straightening me out as far as doing the right [thing]…'” The Pro Football Hall of Fame coach further said.

Unfortunately for Dwayne Johnson, his dream to play under Jimmy Johnson wouldn’t materialize, as the latter made his historic move to the Dallas Cowboys in 1989 and went on to lift the Lombardi Trophy twice.

Since retiring, Jimmy has been a cornerstone of FOX NFL Sunday on FOX Sports. Sharing the desk with some absolute NFL legends like Bradshaw, Howie Long, Curt Menefee, and Michael Strahan, he anchored a broadcast that won multiple Sports Emmy Awards and earned an NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame induction.