Jimmy Johnson elected to College Football Hall of Fame

JimmyJohnson
Jimmy Johnson won two Super Bowls as coach of the Dallas Cowboys, but his most enjoyable coaching years did not come in the NFL.

"While winning back-to-back Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys was rewarding, the most fun I had in football was in college," Johnson said Tuesday in New York after being elected into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Johnson's head coaching career began at Oklahoma State but it was at Miami, where he won the national title in 1987, that established his credentials as a college football Hall of Famer.

In five seasons in Coral Gables, Johnson compiled a 52-9 record and coached two players - Bennie Blades and Russell Maryland - that preceded him into the college hall .

Johnson's teams were controversial - the Hurricanes famously arrived in Arizona for the 1986 Fiesta Bowl dressed in camouflage - but big winners. From 1985 to 1988, UM lost just two regular-season games and won the 1987 national title. Miami might have repeated in 1988 except that Johnson went for two points instead of a game-tying extra point late in a 31-30 loss to Notre Dame.

"A lot of people didn't like our approach because they had what we called a swagger," said Johnson, who coached the Dolphins from 1996-99. "Our guys were disciplined. I didn't let our guys get away with being penalized. They were confident and maybe they were free-spirited but they were good kids. Our guys got their diplomas."

Johnson is one of three UM coaches elected into the hall, joining Jack Harding (1980) and Andy Gustafson (1985).

Among UM players that have previously been inducted are Don Bosseler, Ted Hendricks. Gino Torretta, Arnold Tucker, Blades and Maryland.
Howard Schnellenberger, who led the Hurricanes to their first national championship in 1983, is not eligible for induction. According to the Hall of Fame's rules, a coach must have won 60 percent of his games. Schnellenberger, who retired as Florida Atlantic's coach last year, won 50.6 percent (158-151-3) of his games.

Aside from Johnson, the 16 other new members of the Hall of Fame are players Charles Alexander, Otis Armstrong, Steve Bartkowski, Hal Bedsole, Dave Casper, Ty Detmer, Tommy Kramer, Art Monk, Greg Myers, Jonathan Ogden, Gabe Rivera, Mark Simoneau, Scott Thomas and John Wooten, and coaches Phil Fulmer and R.C. Slocum.


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(palmbeachpost.com)
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