Thirty-two years, two Super Bowl rings, and his name on the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor haven’t been enough to erase the sting Jimmy Johnson felt when his stint with America’s Team ended. Every question about the dynasty years around Johnson still goes back to the disputes over authority between him and Jerry Jones.

What started as a tug-of-war with the Lombardi Trophy after their second Super Bowl hasn’t died down. In his most recent ‘tug’, Jimmy Johnson is attempting to settle that debate at a moment when Jerry Jones has landed in hot water. 

It started when Jimmy took to his X handle with a simple question: “Does this explain Cowboys responsibilities?” Under that question, he added a picture of his Cowboys contract, outlining his roles and responsibilities. He didn’t have to say anything in his caption because the three points highlighted in that picture did all the work for him.

“Johnson shall have the following duties and responsibilities:
(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 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.”

These responsibilities aren’t exactly a surprise. When Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys, he fired legendary coach Tom Landry in favor of Johnson. After all, he was teammates when they won a national championship with the Arkansas Razorbacks. That’s why, when Jones inherited a sinking ship, he turned to his roommate from college. 

Per Johnson, their split was simple, as he told ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr.: Jones would handle marketing and money; Johnson had the final say in matters of football. But when they started their rebuild, the season delivered a brutal reality check. It was a 0-6 start to the season that ended their maiden voyage with a 1-15 record. 

To make matters worse, the team had already given up their first-round pick to bring in Steve Walsh during the 1989 supplemental draft. However, Johnson managed one of the greatest moves in the market. And it all started with the Herschel Walker trade. 

Johnson, in charge of roster management, sent Walker and a few players to the Vikings in exchange for multiple draft picks. By the end of it, the Cowboys had added Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson, and Russell Maryland to a rebuild around 1989 pick number 1, Troy Aikman. 

Michael Irvin was already on the roster since 1988, and the team suddenly started to look dangerous. The 1991 season first gave Jerry and Jimmy the taste of NFL playoffs, and they brought two Lombardi Trophies to Dallas in ‘92 and ‘93. But the foundation these two had built was already showing cracks by then.

Jones had already been endlessly criticised for firing Tom Landry in his first year. Then, when the credit for the titles went to Johnson, that frustration tipped over. 

On Netflix’s The Gambler And His Cowboys, former Cowboys DC Dave Wannstedt recalled a dinner at the NFL owners’ meeting where Jerry raised a toast to their second Super Bowl win. Everyone raised their glasses, with the sole exception of Jimmy Johnson, and something in Jerry snapped. On the docuseries, reporters Ed Werder and Rick Gosselin revealed what Jones had told them later that night.

“Don’t leave now,” Jones said, per Werder. “You’ll miss the story of the year. I’m going to fire that m–f– Jimmy Johnson, that disloyal son of a b**ch.”

So, Johnson was shown the door as Jerry bought out the remaining $2 million of his contract. Barry Switzer became the next man up, as if to prove Jerry’s infamous quote that 500 coaches could have won a Super Bowl with this team. But hopes of a three-peat died when the Cowboys lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the conference championship. 

Switzer won the Super Bowl the next year, but that January 1996 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers would be the last time. In the 30-year-drought that followed, the questions about who built that team never went away. And Johnson is pulling out his contract at a time when Jones has been under fire for the lack of silverware.

Johnson may have a point to make

Just days ago, Troy Aikman went for an interview with Dale Hansen and criticized the drought. He made it clear that the change was a turning point in Dallas history. 

“[Jerry] knows why we won with Jimmy Johnson, and I believe the reason we won is because every player in that locker room felt, and I think knew, that Jimmy was calling the shots, that Jimmy was in control of their destiny, so if you didn’t do what you were supposed to do by Jimmy’s standards, you were held accountable.”

James Washington and Michael Irvin emphasised the same. When Barry Switzer took over, he was filling in the shoes of a coach the players didn’t want to be replaced.

Now, Jerry Jones might still push back, saying he took a big risk with Jimmy, who’d never coached in the NFL before. But in his own words from the Netflix docuseries, Jerry has outlined how he operates, especially when things are going too well for him.

“I look back, I should have hung my hat on the fact that I knew that Jimmy Johnson wasn’t perfect,” Jones said. “He knew that I was one of the most imperfect people that he had ever been around. And then when we are on top of the world, and just won the gold cup, and I’m liable to break the damn thing.”

That’s why Johnson’s post comes in at an important time. Jones has been criticised for keeping control to himself. But Johnson’s post was a reminder of what he could achieve when he handed the power over to Johnson.