ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 12, 1996 TAG: 9601120056
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DAVIE, FLA.
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST
Proclaiming ``whatever the timetable is, it's not soon enough,'' Jimmy Johnson was introduced Thursday as the new coach of the NFL's Miami Dolphins, a job to which he has been linked since he left the Dallas Cowboys for the television booth two years ago following back-to-back Super Bowl victories.
Johnson, 52, will replace Don Shula, who resigned with a push from owner Wayne Huizenga on Jan.5 - the day after his 66th birthday - after 26 years as coach. Johnson signed a four-year contract that will pay him $2 million a season, making him the highest-paid coach in pro football. He was at his desk at the Dolphins' complex Thursday even before his hiring was announced at an afternoon news conference.
Miami owner Wayne Huizenga and general manager Eddie Jones met with Johnson for 4 1/2 hours Wednesday and essentially finalized the deal. Johnson also was being wooed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but after his session with Huizenga he said he canceled meetings he had scheduled with Bucs officials.
Huizenga also said he had discussed the coaching search daily with Shula, now vice chairman of the board and a part-owner of the team. He said the former coach ``heartily supports the decision'' to hire Johnson.
Like Shula, Johnson will have total authority over football operations, one reason he left the Cowboys following a rift and a serious personality clash with owner Jerry Jones less than two months after the team won its second consecutive title following the '93 season. He has spent the past two years as an analyst for Fox and Home Box Office.
``I love the competition, I love the discipline,'' Johnson said when asked why he was returning to the sideline. ``I take tremendous pride in putting a team on the field ... that plays with passion. I'm here for one reason - my passion for the game.''
In Dallas, there already is speculation Johnson will be interested in acquiring several Cowboys. Five players who will start Sunday's NFC championship game against the Green Bay Packers are unrestricted free agents. They include Pro Bowl safety Darren Woodson, cornerback Larry Brown, defensive tackle Russell Maryland and linebackers Robert Jones and Dixon Edwards. Linebacker Darrin Smith is a restricted free agent.
Also, 10 of the 11 assistants on Barry Switzer's Cowboys staff were inherited from Johnson's staff. Four came to Dallas with Johnson from the University of Miami. But Jones said Thursday every man on Switzer's '95 staff has one year remaining on his contract and two - offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese and offensive line coach Hudson Houck - have three years left.
``I'm proud for Jimmy,'' Jones said Thursday at the Cowboys' Valley Ranch headquarters. ``I think it's something he's wanted and it's really good for the NFL. There's not one thing in me that doesn't think this is a positive and it'll be fun competing. We'll talk about extending the coaches' [contracts] again this year. When we did it last year, we did it with the underlying thought that Jimmy Johnson would be a head coach somewhere.''
Asked how he would react if Johnson called him about a proposed trade, Jones said ``when it comes to improving his football team, I don't think Jimmy would be bashful about throwing something out there. ... If he came in with a deal that we ought to do, you'd sure have to know it would have to be in his best interest and not yours.''
The Cowboys and Dolphins will play each other in Miami next season, a game Jones said ``should be real good. They'll be in a position to compete and we will, too. ... It's no issue for me. When we play, I want to get that personal stuff behind us.''
Johnson would like to put together a staff quickly after he completes his Fox duties in Dallas this weekend at the NFC title game. He said he will leave Dallas early next week to scout college players at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., and then will start assembling a staff. He said he will speak with every member of the Dolphins' staff but almost certainly will make changes. One of them might be signing former Washington Redskins assistant and Arizona head coach Joe Bugel, now with the Oakland Raiders.
``There's talent on this team and I think this team can win,'' Johnson said. ``I'll try to make it as little a transitional period as possible. I'll try to make it so it's not rebuilding. ... It's not the situation I had in the beginning at Dallas. We will have changes, but it won't be a major overhaul.
Johnson will take over an underachieving 10-7 team, eliminated from the playoffs in a blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills. Miami had 19 No.1 draft choices on the '95 roster and spent more than $18 million in signing bonuses to acquire several highly regarded free agents.
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Jimmy Johnson signed a four-year, $8 million dealby CNBThursday to become the Miami Dolphins' head coach. KEYWORDS: FOOTBALL