Jimmy Johnson, head coach at Oklahoma State and Miami
Photo: Airman 1st Class Andrew Britten, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Jimmy Johnson

Jimmy Johnson went 81–⁠34–⁠3 as a head coach, 1979–⁠1988, at Oklahoma State and Miami. His 1987 Miami team claims the national title.

Record
81–⁠34–⁠3 career
Seasons
10
Schools
2
National titles
1 claimed: 1987
Hall of Fame
2012 inducted
Best season
1987 12–⁠0, No. 1

Season by season

Wins and losses each seasonfinal AP rank above★ national titleline: the team’s Elo at season’s end, best 1855 in 1988
SeasonSchoolRecordConference finishBowlAP final
1979Oklahoma State7–⁠43rd
1980Oklahoma State3–⁠7–⁠15th
1981Oklahoma State7–⁠5T–3rdIndependence Bowl L
1982Oklahoma State4–⁠5–⁠23rd
1983Oklahoma State8–⁠44thAstro-Bluebonnet Bowl W18
1984Miami8–⁠5Fiesta Bowl L18
1985Miami10–⁠2Sugar Bowl L9
1986Miami11–⁠1Fiesta Bowl L2
1987Miami12–⁠0Orange Bowl W1
1988Miami11–⁠1Orange Bowl W2

Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.

Players he coached

Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.

How his teams did

Kind of gameGamesRecord
Against ranked teams4020–⁠20
Against top-10 teams2211–⁠11
Against rivals2113–⁠8
Conference games3517–⁠15–⁠3
Bowls and playoffs73–⁠4
Decided by 8 points or fewer3717–⁠17–⁠3
At home5839–⁠16–⁠3
On the road5036–⁠14
At neutral sites106–⁠4
As our Elo’s favorite8465–⁠16–⁠3
As our Elo’s underdog3416–⁠18

His own 118 games on file, 1979–⁠1988, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.

Against other head coaches

CoachRecordTheir schoolsGames
Barry Switzer 1979–⁠19873–⁠5Oklahoma8
Tom Osborne 1979–⁠19881–⁠5Nebraska6
Dave Currey 1984–⁠19885–⁠0Cincinnati5
Jim Dickey 1979–⁠19834–⁠1Kansas State5
Bobby Bowden 1984–⁠19884–⁠1Florida State5
Warren Powers 1979–⁠19833–⁠2Missouri5
Art Baker 1985–⁠19884–⁠0East Carolina4
Donnie Duncan 1979–⁠19823–⁠1Iowa State4
Don Fambrough 1979–⁠19822–⁠0–⁠2Kansas4
Lou Holtz 1979–⁠19881–⁠3Arkansas, Notre Dame4

Jimmy Johnson’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.

Most-faced opponents

OpponentGamesRecord
Oklahomaseries83–⁠5
Cincinnatiseries66–⁠0
Missouriseries64–⁠2
Nebraskaseries61–⁠5
Florida Stateseries54–⁠1
Iowa Stateseries54–⁠1
Tulsaseries54–⁠1
Kansas Stateseries54–⁠1

National coaching awards

The awards

Career

YearsTeamJob
1965Louisiana TechAssistant coach
1966Picayune Memorial HS (MS) high schoolAssistant coach
1967Wichita StateAssistant coach
1968–⁠69Iowa StateAssistant coach
1970–⁠72OklahomaDefensive line coach
1973–⁠76ArkansasDefensive coordinator
1977–⁠78PittsburghAssistant head coach and defensive coordinator
1979–⁠83Oklahoma StateHead coach
1984–⁠88Miami (FL)Head coach
1989–⁠93Dallas Cowboys NFLHead coach
1996–⁠99Miami Dolphins NFLHead coach

Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.

Coaching tree

Worked under

Jimmy Johnson

Assistants who became head coaches

Worked under (4)
Head coachTeamYearsHis job
Johnny MajorsIowa State1968–⁠69Assistant coach
Chuck FairbanksOklahoma1970–⁠72Defensive line coach
Frank BroylesArkansas1973–⁠76Defensive coordinator
Jackie SherrillPittsburgh1977–⁠78Assistant head coach and defensive coordinator
Coached under him, later head coaches (21)
CoachWith himHead coach at
Butch DavisOklahoma State, 1979–⁠83: tight ends and wide receivers coach; Miami, 1984–⁠88: defensive line coach; Dallas Cowboys, 1989–⁠92: defensive line coach; 1993: defensive coordinatorMiami, North Carolina, Florida International, Cleveland Browns
Dave WannstedtOklahoma State, 1979–⁠82: defensive line coach; Miami, 1986–⁠88: defensive coordinator; Dallas Cowboys, 1989–⁠92: defensive coordinator; Miami Dolphins, 1999: assistant head coachPittsburgh, Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins
Pat JonesOklahoma State, 1979–⁠83: assistant coach; Miami Dolphins, 1996–⁠99: tight ends coachOklahoma State
Steve LoganOklahoma State, 1980: tight ends coachEast Carolina, Hutchinson
Houston NuttOklahoma State, 1981–⁠82: graduate assistantBoise State, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Murray State
Reggie HerringOklahoma State, 1981: graduate assistant; 1982–⁠83: linebackers coachArkansas
David RossOklahoma State, 1983: graduate assistantKemper, Bacone
Larry CokerOklahoma State, 1983: offensive coordinatorMiami, UTSA
Marc TrestmanMiami, 1984: quarterbacks coachMontreal Alouettes, Chicago Bears, Toronto Argonauts, Tampa Bay Vipers
Mike KnollMiami, 1984: defensive backs coach; 1985: linebackers coachNew Mexico State, Upper Iowa
Chuck PaganoMiami, 1986: graduate assistantIndianapolis Colts
Tommy TubervilleMiami, 1986–⁠88: assistant coachOle Miss, Auburn, Texas Tech, Cincinnati
Dave CampoMiami, 1987–⁠88: defensive backs coach; Dallas Cowboys, 1989–⁠90: defensive assistant; 1991–⁠93: defensive backs coachDallas Cowboys
Ed OrgeronMiami, 1988: defensive line coachOle Miss, USC, LSU
Joe AvezzanoDallas Cowboys, 1990–⁠93: special teams coachOregon State, Dallas Desperados
Norv TurnerDallas Cowboys, 1991–⁠93: offensive coordinatorWashington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers
Jim EddyDallas Cowboys, 1993: secondary and pass defense assistantSaskatchewan Roughriders, Montreal Alouettes
John BlakeDallas Cowboys, 1993: defensive line coachOklahoma
Bill LewisMiami Dolphins, 1996–⁠99: nickel packageWyoming, East Carolina, Georgia Tech
Larry BeightolMiami Dolphins, 1996–⁠98: offensive line coachLouisiana Tech
Randy ShannonMiami Dolphins, 1998–⁠99: defensive assistantMiami, Florida
Other assistants under him (10)
CoachWith him
Bill MillerOklahoma State, 1979–⁠80: graduate assistant
Bob LeahyOklahoma State, 1979–⁠82: offensive coordinator
Jim HelmsOklahoma State, 1980: defensive coordinator
Bill TroutMiami, 1984: defensive coordinator
Gary StevensMiami, 1984–⁠88: offensive coordinator
Tom OlivadottiMiami, 1984: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach
Paul JetteMiami, 1985: defensive coordinator
Willie MartinezMiami, 1985–⁠86: graduate assistant
George HillMiami Dolphins, 1996–⁠99: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach
Les KoenningMiami Dolphins, 1997: offensive assistant

From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.

Films and books

On film

In books

Films: Wikidata (CC0) and Wikipedia’s lists and categories (CC BY-SA). Books: Open Library (CC0); most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.