Dallas Cowboys fans have been walking down memory lane because former coach Jimmy Johnson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame over the weekend.
Many fans view the early 1990s Cowboys as the good old days of the franchise.
Others get annoyed thinking about this time because Jimmy Johnson got the short end of the stick and deserved better.
Here is why Johnson deserved better.
1. He Should Not Have Been Fired By Jerry Jones
Only an owner with a big ego who is afraid his head coach is getting all of the credit for the legacy the Cowboys teams were building would fire a winning head coach in his prime.
The Cowboys went from worst to first in three years time, and it was due to both Jones and Johnson working together to turn around the franchise.
Jimmy Johnson made it a point to publicly say that he and Jerry Jones made sports history together.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you Jerry. Thank you for giving me that opportunity.” pic.twitter.com/stDIGVX4Dl
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) August 8, 2021
Yet Jones fired Johnson at the pinnacle of the team’s success.
A modern day comparison would be if Patriots owner Bob Kraft would have fired Coach Bill Belichick during the Patriots dynasty.
Kraft knows a good thing when he has it and would never undermine the future success of his team by firing Belichick.
Jones was not that wise.
Johnson’s legacy and the Cowboys organization suffered as a result.
2. He Should Have Coached More Than 2 Super Bowl Champion Teams
ONE OF A KIND! 🏈⭐️@JimmyJohnson | #PFHOF20 pic.twitter.com/QGRSvbBGo3
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) August 8, 2021
Jones and Johnson built the team with trades and draft picks that paid huge dividends.
Those dividends were just starting to pay off when the Cowboys won back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993.
Barry Switzer carried the baton to the Super Bowl Championship in 1995.
Make no mistake about it, Switzer coached Johnson’s team.
Johnson could have won many more than two Dallas Cowboys teams to championships during the 90s had he not been fired.
3. His Legacy Would Have Been Defined Much Earlier
Johnson is finally getting his due for what he did for the Cowboys.
He is 78 years old and was banished by Jones.
The two just reconciled in 2017 around the 25th anniversary of the Cowboys’ first Super Bowl championship under Jones’ ownership.
Johnson most certainly would have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame much earlier had he remained with the Cowboys longer.
He also would have been in the Cowboys coveted Ring of Honor long before now.
Jones just announced this past weekend that Johnson would be a member of the Ring of Honor.
Upon hearing the news, Johnson jokingly replied, “While I am still alive?”
Here's the video: Jerry Jones tells Jimmy Johnson that he is going in the #Cowboys Ring of Honor.
Johnson: "While I'm still alive?" 😂pic.twitter.com/QlzMaNMO0H
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 5, 2021
Conclusion
Not only did Jimmy Johnson deserve better treatment and respect from the Cowboys, i.e. Jerry Jones, but also the Dallas Cowboys fans deserved more respect from Jones.
He inserted his own selfishness when things were running smoothly in the early 1990s and ousted one of the architects of its success.
As a result, Cowboys fans were cheated of what could have been a New England Patriots-like run of many NFC Championships and Super Bowls.
Jones has paid the price for putting his ego first because the Cowboys have never reached that level of success again under his ownership.
NEXT: How Jimmy Johnson And Jerry Jones Have Gotten Over Past Drama