by John Atchison

Created on: June 17, 2009   Last Updated: June 22, 2009

Whether you consider him arrogant, or think of him as the coach whose hair never seemed out of place, there is one term that is associated with Jimmy Johnson: Winner. From his earliest days as a head coach, to his legendary period guiding the ship as Captain of America's team, the Dallas Cowboys, Johnson consistently produced results wherever he went.

With some coaches, such as Barry Switzer or coaches like that, you can say they became winners by being placed in systems that already had a track record of success, and ensured that the coach would in most respects, end up coming out looking like a super coach. Jimmy Johnson was not afforded that luxury. In most cases, he built from the ground up. So let us take a look at one of the top coaches on most every level, Jimmy Johnson.

Early on in his career, the signs of greatness were already embedded in Jimmy Johnson. He played his college call at the University of Arkansas, where he became an all Southwest conference defensive end, and won the 1964 National Championship while a member of the Razorbacks. He decided right after his senior year though that coaching was where he belonged, and set out on the road to becoming a head coach. Where did that road take him?

The first stop was at Louisiana Tech where he served as an Assistant Coach. He then spent one year at a Louisiana High School, before moving on to Wichita State for a season, followed by two years at Iowa State. His first big time assistant job came when he was made the defensive line coach for coach Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma, where he also worked along side a rival of his in later years, Barry Switzer.

When Switzer was named coach of the Sooners in 1973, Johnson moved on to be named the defensive coordinator of his alma mater, Arkansas. He turned their defense into a force, and had hoped that when legendary coach Frank Broyles stepped down, he would be named the headman at his former school. Unfortunately, he was passed over for the position, and decided to go to Pittsburgh for what turned out to be his final stop as an assistant coach.

In 1979, Jimmy Johnson finally caught the big break he was seeking, and was hired as the head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Now many might have looked at this as a certain failure due to the program's history of being very inconsistent and not producing many winning teams. What Johnson saw though was an opportunity.

An opportunity to show that he belonged as a head coach, and he was out to prove his point.

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