This 1988 Orange Bowl Classic not only feature the # 1 and # 2 teams in college football in the country during the 1987 season….but it also featured two opposing head coaches that were both college players for the Arkansas Razorbacks in the 1960’s….who both won NCAA national championship….with Switzer at Oklahoma University and Johnson at the University of Miami…..who both went on to coach in the NFL….while both leading the Dallas Cowboys to Super Bowl championships.
Jimmy Johnson (born July 16, 1943) is an American football broadcaster and former player, coach and executive…..who served as the head football coach at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater from 1979 to 1983….and the University of Miami from 1984 to 1988…..when Johnson then moved to the National Football League (NFL) while serving as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 1989 to 1993….where he led the Boys to two Super Bowls with the team….with both being against the Buffalo Bills….and finally serving as head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 1996 to 1999. As of 2016, he is an analyst for Fox NFL Sunday, the Fox network’s NFL pregame show for the NFL games.
Johnson was the first and one of only three football coaches to lead teams to both a major college football championship and a Super Bowl victory….wit the others being Barry Switzer and Pete Carroll.
Johnson played college football at the University of Arkansas….where he was an all-Southwest Conference defensive lineman for coach Frank Broyles….and a teammate of future Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones…..when in 1964 the Razorbacks squad went undefeated and was recognized as a national champion by the Football Writers Association of America. Johnson was nicknamed “Jimmy Jumpup” because he never stayed down on the ground for long during football practices or games.
On the other sideline for this 1988 Orange Bowl game was Barry Switzer…who is a former American football coach and player…..that served for 16 years as head football coach at the University of Oklahoma….and 4 years as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL)…..as he won three national championships at Oklahoma…..while leading the Dallas Cowboys to win Super Bowl XXX against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has one of the highest winning percentages of any college football coach in history…..and is one of only three head coaches to win both a college football national championship and a Super Bowl….with the others being Jimmy Johnson and Pete Carroll.
