Jimmy rigged

Sporting News, The, Sept 9, 1996 by Greg Cote

The Super Bowl ring on Jimmy Johnson's left hand is an obscene block of diamonds and gold. Lacking only flashing neon, the jewelry could not be more ostentatious, less subtle. It looks like something Zsa Zsa Gabor would wear to a cocktail party attended by several ex-husbands.

The ring shouts of its wearer's superiority, the mere sight of it precluding any notion to the contrary. Which is fine by Jimmy Johnson, a man who calls himself egotistical with a sense of pride, a man whose self-confidence is as famous as his regal sweep of perfect hard hair.

The ring is not there to remind its owner where he has been, for Dallas has receded like a hitchhiker in his rear-view mirror and all but disappeared. History is a waste of Johnson's time. Older Dolphins fans and Don Shula loyalists clinging to the club's early '70s heydays were shocked when Johnson stood at his first public function as Miami's new coach and said: "I could care less about the past."

See, in Miami the past always had been the salve that made the often-disappointing present easier to accept "The Perfect Season" of 1972 hovers omnipresent, though children born that year have children of their own now. Dolphins players from the 1972-73 era that produced consecutive Super Bowl titles remain prominent in the community, buoyed by having brought Miami something that has never been duplicated. Shula's own steak restaurant in town is a virtual shrine to those halcyon days, with each leatherbound chair bearing the name of a different golden player.

Jimmy Johnson, he couldn't care less about any of that.

Johnson kick-started the Dolphins' future Sunday with a convincing 24-10 victory over AFC East rival new England at Pro Player Park (formerly doe Robbie Stadium). If the result did anything, it warned Johnson doubters to remind themselves that he has been here before and done this before: taken a great, downtrodden franchise and made it proud again.

Dolfans' wistfulness for yesterdays have been suddenly and resoundingly replaced by Johnson's ravenous hunger for today and tomorrow, for this season and next. Forget about some dusty, distant decade.

That's why the ring is there on his left hand. It isn't to remind Jimmy Johnson where he has been, but rather where he is sure he is headed: back to another Super Bowl title.

"I've got to win it again. It's the only reason I came back," Johnson says. "If we win it all, then Miami is the dream job everybody seems to think it is for me. If we don't, then it's a nightmare. And a mistake."

The unmistakable expectation in south Florida is one J.J. finds neither daunting nor unreasonable. Everybody assumes--not hopes, assumes --that Johnson will deliver Miami's first Super Bowl appearance since the 1984 season and first title since the '73 campaign. Of course he will, soon, if not this season. He is who he is, after all, the best coach in the NFL (just ask him), winner of consecutive Super Bowls in Dallas and a salesman who fertilizes high hopes in Miami with a relentless broadcast of enthusiasm bordering on braggadocio.

"What's irritating to opponents," he says, so typically, "is that they know we're going to win."

The only question is when. Not if, but how much and how soon?

Johnson publicly claims no timetable for making Miami super again, but the coach has told close friends four seasons should be enough; three with a little luck. Sunday's debut of the Johnson era did nothing to dampen fans' belief that the new coach will deliver.

With a young team many thought would take half a season to jell, Johnson's Dolphins dominated their opener and did so with a couple of Johnson staples: a running game and defense.

For so long, Shula and the Dolphins relied on Dan Marino's arm to cure all ills. only to realize he wasn't enough. This is a franchise that hasn't had a 1,OOO-yard rusher since 1978 (Delvin Williams), and Johnson appears determined, and rightly, to make Miami a better balanced team. The Dolphins rushed for 146 yards (rookie Karim Abdul-Jabbar had 115 in 26 carries), dominated the clock held New England to 29 yards rushing, forced four turnovers and played with enthusiasm. Little went wrong.

"We were flying around, making plays and giving tremendous effort," Johnson raved afterward.

Indeed, the defense attacked rather than assuming the passive read-and-react posture typical of recent Dolphins teams. Fresh bodies were rotated in the defensive line, which was sparked by tackles Tim Bowens and rookie Daryl Gardener. Miniature middle linebacker Zach Thomas, another rookie knocked New England wideout Shawn Jefferson out of the game with a vicious hit Veteran safety Louis Oliver looked strong.

No one is booking Super Bowl flights just yet. Questions loom about the secondary, the receiving corps is shaky, the kicker is unproven and the offensive line isn't well-versed at run blocking. And don't forget about a mushy early-season schedule that features few tough foes. But most in south Florida were sold, even before the successful opener, on the idea Johnson will do what Don Shula couldn't the past 20-plus years.