Jimmy Johnson is more serene now, his head no longer as uptight as his hair.
“I do believe I’m less concerned about trivial things,” said the new coach of the Miami Dolphins.
In Dallas, he recalls having to take away a complimentary car from somebody who hadn’t worked for the Cowboys for three years.
“A lot of things I would get uptight about that now I wouldn’t get upset about,” Johnson said.
Dolphins defensive back Robert Bailey, who played for Johnson at the University of Miami, puts it this way: “He’s mean, but if he’s upset with you, what he tells you to do is not as bad as it would have been before. His punishment is not nearly so severe.”
This is especially good news for media relations director Harvey Greene. When Johnson saw that Don Shula’s biography preceded his in the 1996 Dolphins media guide, he only asked Greene why. One of the best in the business, Greene still has his livelihood, not to mention his life. Johnson still recognizes talent.
For Johnson, following legends has become old hat.
“I didn’t pay any attention to it the last time and I’m not paying any attention to it this time,” said Johnson, who brings the Dolphins to Soldier Field for Sunday’s preseason game against the Bears. “I have a job to do. I have great respect for Tom Landry, great respect for Don Shula. That doesn’t have any effect on my job. I’m not going to be disrespectful, but I’m not going to be afraid.”
Shula is vice chairman of the Dolphins, which is not the same as chairman of vice but is not precisely defined either. For sure, Shula is not ahead of or over Johnson in any way, as the media guide may suggest.
Owner H. Wayne Huizenga is listed first and this meets entirely with Johnson’s approval. In lavishing praise on his new boss, Johnson makes it clear Huizenga is no Jerry Jones.
“It would be hard for me to ever imagine anyone better than Wayne Huizenga,” Johnson said. “Even though I had discussions with other teams, if it hadn’t been the Dolphins and Wayne Huizenga, I doubt that I would have come back. He overwhelmed me. You could tell his commitment to winning, to do whatever it takes, and to let you do your job.”
There were about 2 million other reasons too, as Huizenga made Johnson at least a $2 million-a-year-coach.
Make that 2 million and one reasons. Dan Marino is a quarterback who can turn a coach into a genius. Or, as Johnson prefers in his autobiography, a wizard. Johnson could have coached Tampa Bay, where young Trent Dilfer labors. Moving from Troy Aikman to Marino is less culture shock, like moving from Winnetka to Wilmette.
“I knew expectations would be high and it’s a lot easier to fulfill those expectations if you have an outstanding quarterback,” Johnson said.
But after two Super Bowl victories in Dallas, a tidy settlement from Cowboys owner Jones and a lucrative life as a Fox Network commentator, Johnson still needs to explain why he returned to the NFL.
“The biggest thing is I came back because I want another ring,” Johnson said.
He took the job weeks before Jones won one without him. Winning one without Jones is now powerful incentive. Still, Johnson’s reputation was secure. Why risk it?
“The challenge,” Johnson said. “I think everyone has to put themselves in situations where it pushes you to the limit. For your own self-satisfaction, for your own happiness, you have to challenge yourself on a continual basis. And sometimes when you’ve achieved a lot, like winning those two Super Bowls, the challenges get higher and higher. But I think you continually have to do that. That’s just part of staying energized.
“Michael Jordan doesn’t need to play basketball. He doesn’t need the money. But he keeps challenging himself to do better the next year. That’s how you stay at the top of your game. That’s how you stay healthy. That’s how you stay happy. When you stop challenging yourself, I think you fade away.
“You’ve got to make the goal high enough to where it’s going to be difficult to attain. I can’t challenge myself to just come back and coach again. I have to challenge myself to win it all.”
And so a large poster in the Dolphins’ locker room reads: “The Road to the Super Bowl Starts Here.” There is a picture of the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the Dolphins’ schedule–this year’s schedule.
As Johnson rebuilds an overpaid, underachieving bunch, the goal seems preposterous. But Johnson is more concerned about perception than reality. The importance of goals transcends their achievability. Without them, progress may be impossible. That’s why Johnson says he wants to instill an attitude now that his team is “the one to beat.”
“There is no question in my mind in time it can be done,” he said. “How good this year? You get mixed views. I think we’ll be a good football team. I know there will be bumps in the road because we’re inexperienced defensively and we have a first-year coaching staff. By the end of the year, if we’ve done our job and we stay healthy, we’ll be good enough to have some success in the playoffs.”
But how? How can a team lose three outstanding defensive players in free agency–Bryan Cox, Marco Coleman and Troy Vincent–plus top wide receiver Irving Fryar, yet still progress? Moreover, Johnson signed receiver Fred Barnett only to lose him for the season to injury. He cut overpaid, overweight tight end Eric Green only to have potential replacement Johnny Mitchell quit after a week.
The answer lies in Johnson’s unfailing confidence in youth. After his exhibition opener last week against Tampa Bay, Johnson raved about fifth-round draft choice Jerris McPhail, a running back.
In the draft Johnson befuddled colleagues, including old buddy Dave Wannstedt, by selecting huge, underachieving Baylor defensive lineman Daryl Gardener, confident that Johnson could accomplish what other coaches feared–developing untapped potential.
Gardener is now in the best shape of his life. Ex-Bear Trace Armstrong said Gardener is having a “great camp. He could be a phenomenal player.”
“Jimmy’s philosophy is similar to Dave in Chicago,” Armstrong said. “They feel like they have a simple scheme and they have a lot of faith in the guys they bring in. They feel they can coach the guys up. The enthusiasm is contagious. Talk to Jimmy for five minutes and you’re ready to run through a wall.”
In Dallas, Johnson didn’t have the constraints of the salary cap, but a roster heavy on youth rarely threatens the cap anyway.
“I don’t fall in love with a player,” he said. “If he gets too old, I’ll replace him. It’s the way I believe in doing things.”
When Johnson cut veteran and personal favorite Jack Del Rio last week in favor of fifth-round rookie linebacker Zach Thomas, he stunned the locker room.
There is another part to Johnson’s plan. Although he’s glad Marino is handling the ball, he vows to take it away from him. After breaking every lifetime passing record last season and still losing, Marino claims he will be happy throwing only 10 times a game if he wins. He might get his wish.
“We are going to run the ball,” Johnson said. “If we don’t run well, that’s not going to stop us from coming back and trying again. We’re not going to give up and throw just because we have a Hall of Fame player. I made that mistake my first year in Dallas.”
So far Marino has supported everything Johnson has done, including chewing out the team 24 hours before the Tampa Bay debut, questioning the players’ will to win.
Although Marino expressed “frustration” at his timing with his new cast of receivers, he said: “I don’t see anything wrong with the coach being upset with the mental toughness and desire. If people are not mentally tough and want to win, they’re not going to be here.”
Bailey seconds that.
“Will he win? He won’t have it any other way,” Bailey said. “If we don’t win, he’ll have a new team until he wins. Every player will be gone and that includes me.”
Eventually, it will include Marino.
“I got criticism because John Elway signed a five-year contract and Dan is the same age and has the same agent, but we gave Dan a three-year contract,” Johnson said. “I didn’t want to give a five-year contract if he was only going to play at a high level for three. If he’s still playing at a high level after two years, I’ll give an extension. But I don’t want to be paying signing bonuses to players no longer here.”
Wannstedt is one who wonders how long Johnson may last. His track record is for short stays, and he loves his South Florida life outside of football. Already, he has forged into territory uncharted by conventional football coaches with this sentence in his media guide biography: “Johnson and his girlfriend Rhonda Rookmaaker reside in Miami.”
But will he give it up before he wins?
“He’s the most relaxed I’ve seen him,” said director of football operations Bob Ackles. “But he’s still focused. He’ll want to win.”
“How long? Who knows?” Johnson said. “Nobody can say what you’re going to do two years from now, but as long as we’re making progress, I can anticipate staying with it.”
