Cowboys News: Dallas legends react to Jimmy Johnson, CeeDee Lamb, DaRon Bland
By Jerry Trotta
The Dallas Cowboys dismantled the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, but the real triumph from Week 11 occurred before kickoff when Jerry Jones announced that legendary Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson will (finally) enter the team's Ring of Honor at halftime of Dallas' Week 17 game against the Lions.
Jones preached for a while that Johnson would eventually go into the Ring, but Cowboys fans ultimately grew numb to Jones' continued unfulfilled promises and even gave up hope that the owner would do the right thing.
Hope waned even further when Jones announced in August that DeMarcus Ware would enter the distinguished Ring of Honor. After all, Jones stated before the Ware news that nobody would go into the Ring this season.
It's unclear what prompted Jones' change of heart. Perhaps the two mended fences and restored their supposed strained relationship. In any event, the curse has been lifted and multiple Cowboys legends celebrated the news.
Three-time Super Bowl champ and lifetime Cowboy Nate Newton thanked Jones and gave Johnson an awesome tribute.
3-time Super Bowl champion Nate Newton gives his thoughts on Jimmy Johnson being inducted into the #DallasCowboys Ring of Honor pic.twitter.com/fqRQgKcmYY
— Kyle Youmans (@Kyle_Youmans) November 19, 2023
Cowboys legends celebrate Jimmy Johnson going into the Ring of Honor
Hall of Fame Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman took to Instagram to congratulate his former head coach.
Troy Aikman posted to Instagram congratulating Jimmy Johnson on his coming Cowboys Ring of Honor induction pic.twitter.com/H2TdITXfms
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) November 19, 2023
Incredibly, Johnson's induction ceremony will occur on Dec. 30. As a Monday night broadcast (the game will be played on Saturday) Aikman will be on the call for ESPN. It'll be a quick trip for Aikman from the broadcast booth to the field to witness Johnson's big moment. Whether this is a matter of coincidence or thoughtful planning by Jones and the Cowboys, this will be a special night for the former head coach and quarterback.
From one Hall of Famer to another, Michael Irvin reacted to Johnson's big day on Monday's episode of "Undisputed."
.@MichaelIrvin88 reacts to Jimmy Johnson being inducted into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor:
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) November 20, 2023
“I’m so happy, I truly understand what this means for coach Jimmy Johnson.” pic.twitter.com/dAPyB1U45i
You can feel the relief and joy in Irvin's voice.
The Cowboys went 1-15 in Johnson's first season and were champions of the world three years later and rattled off back-to-back Super Bowl titles. He orchestrated one of the greatest trades in NFL history and used that to turn a bottom-feeder into a dynasty in a matter of two years. The definition of a legend.