Jimmy Johnson retires from Fox
Sports after being a face of its NFL coverage for most of 3 decades
[March 04, 2025]
By ERIC OLSON and JOE REEDY
Jimmy Johnson, the Pro Football Hall of Fame coach who won two Super
Bowls and a college national championship, announced his retirement
from Fox Sports on Monday after being part of its NFL coverage for
most of the network's 31 years.
The 81-year-old Johnson made the announcement during an appearance
on “The Herd With Colin Cowherd.”
“The most fun I ever had in my career, that's counting Super Bowls
and national championships, was at Fox Sports,” he said, adding that
he loved working for CEO Eric Shanks and Fox NFL Sunday producer
Bill Richards.
“But I've made an extremely difficult decision,” he said. “I've been
thinking about it for the last four or five years and I've decided
to retire from Fox. I'm going to miss it. I'm going to miss all the
guys. I'll see them occasionally. It's been a great run starting 31
years ago.”
Johnson worked alongside hosts Curt Menefee and Terry Bradshaw and
analysts Howie Long and Michael Strahan. Johnson did two stints with
Fox totaling 25 years. He was hired for the pregame show in 1994 and
spent two seasons before leaving to become the general manager and
head coach of the Miami Dolphins in 1996.
Johnson was with the Dolphins for five seasons and returned to Fox
in 2002.
“Jimmy Johnson was there when Fox NFL Sunday came on-air for the
first time 31 years ago, and since then has been a cherished member
of our Fox Sports family, which makes today's retirement news
bittersweet,” Shanks said in a statement posted to social media.
“Jimmy served as an inspiration to generations of football fans with
his legendary swagger, one-of-a-kind insight and signature humor.”
Johnson made the cross-country trip weekly during the season for
many years from his home in Key West, Florida, to Los Angeles. In
recent seasons, he would only to travel to Los Angeles for the
Sundays when Fox had a doubleheader and would work the other weeks
from home.
“We caught lightning in a bottle. Chemistry is hard to forecast and
duplicate. We came out of the gate at number one and it’s been that
way for 31 years,” Long said Monday by phone. “We’ve grown to love
one another. And the thing I go back to is what I said to him as he
were walking off the field (at the Super Bowl). I've never seen him
this happy.”
Menefee said Johnson informed him last week about his decision.
Menefee added that two years ago the crew had what was thought to be
a going-away dinner for Johnson in Los Angeles at the end of the
season, but that Johnson later opted to return.
“The reason he did decide to come back before was because there was
a hesitation. This time he was 100 percent confident that this is
the right thing for him to do at this time and with his family,”
Menefee said by phone. “I think we all hope we get to go out into
the sunset the way that we want, and he certainly has been able to
do that.”
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Fox Sports analyst and Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy
Johnson looks on prior to the NFC Championship NFL football game
between the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles, Jan.
29, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola, File)
Johnson won Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys in
the 1992 and ’93 seasons and the college football national
championship with Miami in 1987. He was inducted into the Pro
Football Hall of Fame in 2020.
Menefee said the announcement of Johnson's induction during halftime
of an NFC divisional-round game in January 2020 remains one of the
top moments since Fox Sports began carrying the NFL in 1994.
“I don’t think there's anything that we have done in the 31 years of
Fox Sports has been remotely close to that, because I think not only
did it mean so much to Jimmy, you saw how much it meant to the
people who care about Jimmy," Menefee said. "I think everything that
Fox Sports is got encapsulated in that one moment for the whole
world to see.”
Johnson coached the Cowboys for five seasons, stepping down after
winning his second Lombardi Trophy, and three months later was hired
by Fox as a pregame show analyst. Johnson's split with Cowboys owner
Jerry Jones was acrimonious, and it wasn't until Dec. 30, 2023, that
Jones put Johnson in the team’s ring of honor. Johnson and Tom
Landry are the only coaches alongside the 19 players and two
executives in the exclusive group of one of the NFL’s storied
franchises.
Johnson's coaching career started in 1965 as an assistant at
Louisiana Tech, Bradshaw's alma mater. He became a head coach for
the first time in 1979, at Oklahoma State, and left after five years
for Miami, where he went 52-9 with two No. 2 finishes to go with his
1987 title.
“It has been 17 seasons of fun and laughs sitting next to you,”
Strahan posted on X. “You’re truly one of a kind and thanks for
being you and gifting me with one of the best friendships anyone
could ever ask for. Hope you enjoy fishing and drinking beers on the
boat. You deserve it, love you Coach!”
Johnson reposted Strahan's well wishes and added a message:
“Michael, going to miss sitting next to you but I'll be watching.”
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