The Dolphins now have two Hall of Fame coaches.
Twenty-three years after Don Shula was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, Jimmy Johnson will be joining him in football immortality next August.
The announcement was made live on FOX during halftime of the NFC divisional playoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers when Hall of Fame President/CEO David Baker walked onto the set to deliver the news to Johnson.
The Dolphins now will be one of six franchises with two modern-era coaches in the Hall of Fame, along with the Washington redskins, Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers and the Los Angeles Rams.
"The only thing I can think of is all the assistant coaches who worked for me, all the great players that played for me," Johnson said on FOX. "They're the reason I'm here. And they're the reason .... I can't talk."
After collecting himself, Johnson added, "This is so special to me, because when you put in the work we put in, it's nice to know people appreciate it."
Johnson's NFL coaching career included five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, with whom he won two Super Bowl titles, and four years with the Dolphins.
In those four seasons in Miami, the Dolphins went to the playoffs three times and won two postseason games, defeating the Buffalo Bills in the 1998 season and the Seattle Seahawks the following year.
Johnson's record of 36-28 (.563) is third-best in terms of winning percentage among the Dolphins' 13 head coaches, behind only Shula's .659 and the .575 posted by Johnson's successor, Dave Wannstedt.
Johnson also was instrumental in putting together one of the top defenses in the NFL, with the draft selections of Zach Thomas in 1996, Sam Madison and Jason Taylor in 1997 and Patrick Surtain in 1998.
With those four players leading the way, the Dolphins defenses were third and fifth in fewest yards allowed in Johnson's final two years and in the top 10 the following five seasons.
Taylor was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2018 and Thomas is a finalist for the Class of 2020, so the Dolphins could have two Hall of Fame inductees next August.
It was Johnson was presented Taylor when he was inducted 17 months ago.
Taylor put out this tweet after the news of Johnson's election into the Hall of Fame: "Congrats to @jimmy Johnson on being elected to the @ProFootballHOF so deserving! Making me cry watching you on @NFLonFOX right now coach."
This was the tweet from Surtain, who went on to earn three Pro Bowl invitations with the Dolphins after Johnson drafted him in the second round out of Southern Miss: "Congrats to my guy @JimmyJohnson on his induction to the Hall of Fame. He gave me a chance and drafted me way back in 1998. Well deserved and long overdue. A real one!!"
Johnson also got congratulatory tweets from some of his former Dolphins players, such as Richmond Webb, and even from current Dolphins players, such as Davon Godchaux.
Johnson was part of the Centennial Slate for the Hall of Fame Class of 2020, and his election followed that of former Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher on Saturday.
The Centennial Slate includes 10 Seniors (players who last played more than 25 seasons ago), three Contributors (an individual other than a player or coach), and two Coaches (who last coached more than five seasons ago) and were voted on from a list of 38 finalists. The Centennial Blue-Ribbon Panel evaluated nearly 300 nominees in the process.
The remainder of the 15-person Centennial Slate for the Class of 2020 will be revealed live on "Good Morning Football" on Wednesday beginning at 7 a.m. ET on NFL Network.
The Class of 2020 will consist of 20 members. An additional five members will be added to the Class of 2020 on "Selection Saturday," the day before Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium, when the modern-era player finalists are voted on by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee.
Along with Thomas, the finalists are S Troy Polamalu, RB Edgerrin James, DT Bryant Young, DE/DT Richard Seymour, FS John Lynch, S Steve Atwater, S LeRoy Butler, WR Reggie Wayne, WR Torry Holt, WR Isaac Bruce, LB Sam Mills, T Tony Boselli, G Alan Faneca and G Steve Hutchinson.
