*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***

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Jan 11, 1996: -- Johnson Gets It! --

According to all the major news services (ESPN, USA Today and the major sports radio and TV stations in Miami), Jimmy Johnson and Wayne Huizenga have reached a deal that will make Jimmy the new head coach of the Dolphins today.

Johnson's salary is reported to be anywhere between $2.2 and $3.5 million dollars per year, depending on the source. However, all the sources agree that he is being offered a 5 year deal and given all the control of the team that he desires.

Reports further indicate that an announcement will be made this afternoon at a press conference at the Dolphins Training Camp.

Johnson is supposed to meet with a number of key players, coaches and other staff today in order to discuss their future with the team. He may also attend the Senior Bowl on Monday in Mobile, Alabama to begin his scouting process.

Johnson himself has debunked rumors that he would trade Dan Marino for a large number of draft picks, preferring instead to keep him. However, Johnson has also said that it's a mistake to rely too much on Marino to win all their games for them.

My Comments:

Gee, that didn't take long, did it? Perhaps I'm a cynic, but it seems to me as if the deal must have been in the making for more than just 4 hours yesterday.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a conspiracy nut - I don't believe that Johnson and Huizenga "conspired" to get rid of Shula. But I do find it hard to believe that Huizenga's boys had absolutely no idea what Johnson would want when they went into negotiations with him on Monday. It doesn't seem likely that something this big could have been completed so soon without Huizenga's people having a pretty good idea of what to offer Johnson - and that means prior contacts between the two parties.

Still, that's just the way big business gets done. And football is definitely big business.