Jimmy Johnson Accepts Temporary Role With Former Employers After Announcing Fox Retirement

Just days after stepping away from a celebrated 31-year run at Fox Sports, Jimmy Johnson wasn’t settling into a quiet retirement. Instead, the 82-year-old icon stood surrounded by a who’s who of Hurricanes royalty, Michael Irvin, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Devin Hester, and Jim Kelly, among them, poised to reignite a community one more time.

With a familiar glint in his eye, Johnson turned the siren, thrust his thumbs high, and for a moment, it was 1987 all over again. A celebration of the program’s 100th anniversary and the return of its king. Johnson was standing in the heart of Hard Rock Stadium, doing what he does best: As the announcer at the Miller Ale House put it, he got the whole crowd “all fired up.” Ross Delenger tweeted, It was a “bowl of Orange soup…. 80 degrees with 90% humidity,” but the heat was no match for the fire Johnson lit.

The stats back up that confidence with cold, hard facts. His 52–9 record over five seasons at The U is a staggering .852 win percentage. His teams finished in the top two in the nation in three of his final four years, capturing the 1987 national championship with a perfect 12–0 record and launching historic win streaks that still echo through the program’s lore as the Hurricanes lead Notre Dame 21–7 in the third quarter.

Johnson, the only person to ever serve as head coach of both the Miami Hurricanes and the Miami Dolphins, stepped away from the Fox NFL Sunday desk with a legendary send-off. CEO Eric Shanks paid tribute to his “legendary swagger, one-of-a-kind insight and signature humor,” noting that Johnson was their coach who always pushed them to be better.

Yet, the pull of family is strong, and for Johnson, that word has two meanings. There’s his Fox family.

From The U to the NFL: A legacy written in wins and swagger

Of whom he said, “Who could have guessed that of all the football teams I’ve been a part of, the one I cherish the most is the one I’ve been with the longest. My Fox guys are more than teammates. They’re my family.” And then there’s his Miami family. The one he built from the ground up, transforming a program into a powerhouse that thrived on a defiant, unshakable confidence.

In a retrospective filmed with Fox, Johnson looked back on those days, stating, “The national champs. The big time….But in Miami, we built the college football powerhouse. We weren’t c***y. We were confident. Because we knew we were the best. The establishment didn’t like us, but we didn’t care.”

After conquering college football, he took that same blueprint to the NFL, winning two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys before answering the call to succeed another giant, Don Shula, in Miami. His eye for talent was just as sharp with the Dolphins, famously drafting future Hall of Famers Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor, two players he’d later have the honor of presenting in Canton. “Those were some good years with the Dolphins,” Johnson reflected. “And I couldn’t be prouder of drafting a couple of guys who I’d end up presenting into the Hall of Fame.”

So, while his time in the broadcast booth may be over, Jimmy Johnson’s story with Miami is clearly forever. Cranking that siren wasn’t just a nostalgic bit; it was a reminder. A reminder that while legends may retire, their spirit, their swagger, and the unmistakable wail of the hurricane they built never really leaves. It just waits for the right moment to fire up the family once more. How ‘bout dat?