Jimmy Johnson has been one of the most influential football coaches in the sport’s history. While his Dallas Cowboys stint is already known among fans, Johnson has revealed a fascinating potential link between him and the Philadelphia Eagles.

“I’m actually a Philadelphia Eagles fan,” Johnson told Hard Rock Bet, posted on Instagram. “Jeffrey Lurie, the owner, is a good friend of mine. He came down to South Florida three different times trying to hire me. I gave it some thought. But hey, right now I’m a Miami Hurricanes fan. That’s the number one team for me.”

Johnson revealed how Lurie, the owner of the Eagles since 1994, tried to convince Johnson to join the Eagles. Johnson, who won the National Championship in college football as the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes in 1987, joined the Cowboys in 1989.

After an illustrious five years with the team, during which he won back-to-back division titles and Super Bowls, Johnson and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had a dispute over credit and clashing egos, after which Johnson parted ways with the Cowboys before the 1994 season.

This is when Lurie first stepped in as the next owner to hire the first head coach to win both the college national championship and the NFL championship. Lurie had taken power of the Eagles that year and had plans to make the Eagles come back to their NFL championship-winning form, long lost since 1960.

Lurie was also interested in Johnson because of his success with a previously struggling Cowboys team, and wanted the same for his team, which had not gone to the Super Bowl since 1980. While Lurie approached, Johnson chose a different path, but Jones also had comments prior to Johnson’s decision.

“That’d be good. From my perspective, I think it would be good to play him a couple times a year,” Jerry Jones said, according to a December 1994 article by The Oklahoman. “I bet he’d like it, too. I have not read any place where he’s precluded going anywhere.”

While Jones actually seemed glad to see Johnson coach against his former team, Johnson had other ideas. Johnson had earlier taken the path of being an analyst for two seasons, joining FOX Sports in April 1994 after his departure from the Cowboys.

He decided that rather than stepping into another team in the coaching position, it was time to carry on with the analyst role for two seasons. Johnson then served as an analyst on the then-FOX NFL SUNDAY pregame show. He later joined the Miami Dolphins as the head coach in 1996, remaining with them till the 1999 season, finally deciding to retire from the coaching role.

Despite not taking the HC role of the Eagles, both Lurie and Johnson have been great friends. Lurie even congratulated Johnson personally when Johnson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Lurie also had a calling incident with Johnson, when his former boss Jones made comments about the Eagles not having any future players to carry the team.

“I said, ‘I have no idea,'” Johnson said, via the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2023. “Philadelphia has a couple of first-round picks in the [2023] NFL Draft. They’ve got extra picks down the road. They’ve got some very talented players. They’ve got some talented young players. I think the Philadelphia Eagles are gonna be good for a long time.”

Johnson’s accolade-filled career also earned him the Cowboys’ ring of honor in 2023, around 30 years after the split between Jones and him. But Johnson had nothing but respect for Jones after so many years.

“I think we’re past who gets credit,” Johnson said. “The two of us, working together, made history. When I say working together, we talked every single day. I don’t ever recall us having a difference of opinion.”

While Johnson and Lurie couldn’t link up to form a partnership that would’ve had the Eagles fans on their tiptoes, they have been longtime friends and continue to support each other.