'They Finish Each Others' Sentences!' Mike McCarthy Reacts to Jimmy Johnson, Jerry Jones & Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor
Could the "Cowboys Curse" finally be lifted? In a surprising turn of events before Sunday’s away game against the Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made the announcement some have been waiting three decades to hear.
Former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson will finally be inducted into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor.
The announcement came just around kickoff, with Jones surprising Johnson, who currently works for FOX’s NFL team. He’ll be inducted on Dec. 30, when the Cowboys host the Detroit Lions in a late-season episode of Monday Night Football.
The current Cowboys head coach, Mike McCarthy, welcomed the moment between friends (frenemies?), though he had little indication that the announcement was coming.
“I found out when Jimmy and Jerry showed up in my locker room,” McCarthy said. “So that was cool.”
Some considered making a show of an away game to be disrespectful, with Carolina not posing much of a threat to rain on Johnson’s parade. If it was used as bulletin board material, it wasn’t strong enough. The Cowboys made quick work of the Panthers, winning 33-10. Inducting Johnson at halftime would not have been enough to make this one close.
McCarthy took a moment to reflect on his relationship with the two elder statesmen of Dallas football after the win.
“It was awesome to see them two together, it was really cool,” McCarthy said. “They finish each other’s sentences. I know Jimmy is very touched by it, obviously very fortunate to have that time with both of them.”
For now, McCarthy remains focused on the task at hand: lifting the Lombardi Trophy and ensuring the Cowboys Curse—mockingly cast upon the franchise that hasn’t won a championship in nearly 30 years—is never seriously mentioned again.
That means preparing for a Thanksgiving dinner with the Washington Commanders and a late-season stretch that could shape the NFC playoff picture. It was Johnson’s day on Sunday, as McCarthy all but admitted. However, Dallas hopes his ceremony isn’t the last party of the season.
“Obviously,'' he said, "very happy for Coach Johnson.”
