Jimmy Johnson announces retirement from NFL on FOX pregame show

Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson announced his retirement from FOX after over 30 years with the network. He teased retirement towards the end of the season.

“As you know, probably the most fun I’ve ever had in my career, and that’s counting Super Bowls and national championships, was at Fox Sports,” Johnson said on The Herd. “You know, I have an absolute ball with my friends on the set, and the best friends I’ve ever had there with Fox and then I tell you, on top of that, you know, I love working for Eric Shanks, our CEO and our producer, Bill Richards.

“But I’ve made a extremely difficult decision. I’ve been thinking about it for the last four or five years, and I’ve decided to retire from Fox, and I’m gonna miss it. I’m gonna miss all the guys, and I’ll see them occasionally, but it has been a great run, starting back 31 years ago.”

Johnson was subject to emotional tribute video ahead of Super Bowl LIX last month which used AI generation to showcase his life in football. In a creative way, it was a nice way for Johnson to be honored should he walk away from television.

Jimmy Johnson retires from FOX

Now that he is, it’s all the more emotional.

“Well first of all that’s the first time I’ve ever seen that,” Johnson said at the time. “I’ve got to thank my family for allowing me the time to accomplish some of those things. And I was blessed to have great players, great assistant coaches and great friends. Thank you.”

The desk then chimed in with several compliments for the long-time television analyst.

“Not only was that piece awesome, but your life has been awesome, your friendship,” Curt Menefee said. “You sit here with us, we sit back, we joke, we have a really good time. But you are one of the special people in my life, and I think we can all say that because you are a genuine human being. A lot people pretend they’re something. If Jimmy likes you you know it. If he doesn’t, OK. But Jimmy is genuine and that’s one of the things we love about him.”

Johnson is in the Pro Football and College Football Hall of Fame. As a head coach in college, he went 81-34-3 with Oklahoma State and Miami, winning the national championship in 1987 with the Hurricanes.

As an NFL head coach with the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins, Johnson went 80-64, but won two Super Bowls with the Cowboys in 1992 and ’93.