Jimmy Johnson was one of the key early hires when he joined Fox Sports’ new Fox NFL Sunday pregame show in 1994. The network needed instant gravitas as it took over the NFC TV package long held by CBS Sports. At the time, CBS’s groundbreaking The NFL Today was regarded as the role model for NFL studio shows. Johnson was coming off back-to-back Super Bowl victories with the Cowboys. Johnson, CBS veterans Terry Bradshaw and James Brown, and newly retired Howie Long became an unbeatable combination through a mix of knowledge, chemistry, and humor.
Fast-forward to today, and the NFL TV landscape looks completely different. Fox NFL Sunday has been No. 1 in its time slot for an unprecedented 31 seasons. With insider Jay Glazer, host Curt Menefee, and new additions like Rob Gronkowski, the show is in good hands as the 81-year-old Johnson heads into TV retirement after more than 20 years with the show. The former Cowboys coach announced he was hanging up his microphone during Monday’s telecast of The Herd with Colin Cowherd. During his appearance on Cowherd’s show, Johnson said: “I loved every minute of it. … It was really the best time of my career.” Added Fox Sports boss Eric Shanks in a statement: “Coach will be sincerely missed and we wish him the best as he sets sail into retirement, like only Jimmy Johnson can.”
Will Shanks replace Johnson with another retired coach? Maybe. It’s typical for studio shows to have an ex-coach. Think Bill Cowher of CBS’s The NFL Today, Tony Dungy on NBC’s Football Night in America, and Rex Ryan on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown.
Every network emphasizes analysts who have won Super Bowl championships, and none more so than Fox. With Bill Belichick having won six Lombardi Trophies as a head coach and having returned to coaching with his job at North Carolina, there aren’t a ton of bold-faced names out there to replace Johnson.
Jon Gruden would be the most vibrant long-term hire, but his candidacy is complicated by his fractious relationship with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and pending litigation against the league. Gruden, who won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers, signed a multiyear contract with Barstool Sports last year.
Mike McCarthy (no relation) might be a dark horse, one high-placed sports media insider speculated. McCarthy has coached at two cornerstone franchises in the NFC—Green Bay and Dallas—where Fox has a bulk of the games. Cowboys alumni get especially high-profile opportunities with NFL rights partners.
Other available coaches with Super Bowl rings include Doug Pederson (who won in Philadelphia) and Ron Rivera (who reached a Super Bowl as coach of the Panthers and won one as a player on the fabled 1985 Bears). Rivera became an administrator for the football program at his alma mater, the University of California, last month.
McCarthy and Rivera could be seen as quasi-bridge candidates ahead of active head coaches like Sean McVay and Mike Tomlin. McVay appeared on Fox’s Super Bowl pregame coverage last month, and decision-makers at several networks believe Tomlin has high upside as a broadcaster. Andy Reid also looms as a potential NFL studio analyst someday when he retires from the Chiefs, who have reached five of the last six Super Bowls—and won three.
It is not definitive that Fox will name a replacement for Johnson, who was no longer on the studio show every week. The network has a deep roster of talent it can call upon if it chooses not to immediately add another coach to the set.
