ARLINGTON, Texas — It's official: Jimmy Johnson is a member of the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor.
Jones made the announcement about the long-awaited and deserved induction on the FOX pregame show, ahead of the Cowboys' game against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C.
When Jones made the announcement, he initially said, "December 30th, 1923."
"I hope it's 2023!" Johnson said.
"What'd I say?" Jones said laughing. "It is 2023. I want to get this real clear."
Flash forward to Dec. 30, 2023, and the moment was finally here. Johnson became the 25th member of the Cowboys' revered Ring of Honor – and only the second head coach, joining Tom Landry. The Ring of Honor ceremony was held at halftime of the Cowboys-Lions game.
A video played before the ceremony with congratulations from numerous Cowboys legends like Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman. Addressing the crowd, Johnson thanked both Cowboys die-hard fans, as well as the Cowboys haters. And in true Jimmy fashion, he signed off with the phrase he made famous:
"How 'bout them Cowboys," Johnson yelled into the mic as everyone cheered.
Johnson and Jones both spoke with the media before the game about the induction. You can see what they said here.
"I don’t think anybody can ever imagine what this means to me," Johnson said. "This was a special time in my life. This was something that paid dividends for the me the rest of my life. It’s something that I’m extremely proud of."
Johnson coached the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowl championships, in 1992 and 1993, but he and Jones had a falling out, and Johnson left the Cowboys after the second title season.
The Johnson-Jones fallout led to many speculating why the Cowboys owner continued to leave Johnson out.
Jones said in 2021, at Johnson's Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony, that Johnson would be added to the Cowboys' Ring of Honor. But the 2021 and 2022 seasons passed without Johnson formally being added to the Ring of Honor, and when Jones was asked again about Johnson's inclusion this year, he gave no specific date on when Johnson would be added.
And before the November Panthers game, there was no indication that Johnson's addition to the Ring of Honor would be coming anytime soon. Then Jones and Johnson were spotted together on the sidelines at Bank of America Stadium, before a press conference was called for shortly before kickoff.
The Cowboys won a third Super Bowl in 1995 under coach Barry Switzer, though Johnson has often received much of the credit for Dallas' dynasty of the 90s.
Johnson's record in Dallas was 44-36 over five seasons, the last two of which ended in championships.
"You can’t have a true Ring of Honor with Coach Johnson not being in it. It blemishes everything,” said former Cowboys wide receiver Michel Irvin told WFAA.
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