There are so many good quotes from Jimmy Johnson during his Wednesday appearance on the "Dan Patrick Show" that it was hard to pick just one for this headline.
The former Dallas Cowboys coach knows his old team well and believes he knows why it has struggled for so long.
"The No. 1 motivator (in the NFL) is fear. Fear of maybe letting down your teammates or being embarrassed or chastised or fear of losing your job," Johnson told Patrick. "Where is the fear in Dallas? There is no fear in Dallas. It's a country club where everybody is buddies."
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett should be fearful of losing his job, Johnson believes. This week's Desperation Bowl in Philadelphia might be the biggest game of his career.
"I think Jason is probably coaching for his job the rest of the year," Johnson said. "I think this game with Philadelphia, I think this game may decide the futures of players and coaches with those two teams."
We can't disagree. The loser of the game will be 3-6. We'll have to stick a fork in them. The winner will keep hope alive for a run in the NFC East.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' role as the team's general manager as has come under fire this week. Jones said little has changed over the years, that coaches from Jimmy Johnson to Bill Parcells essentially had the same input as Garrett in personnel matters.
"That is completely a bunch of crock," Johnson said. "You notice Jerry started putting all those titles on himself after I left. He didn't call himself general manager and president and all that stuff when I was there; he was the owner. Because it was in my contract that I had total responsibility for all football decisions; it was in my contract. He didn't allow anybody to have that in the contract after I left."
Technically, Jones did hold the GM title while Johnson was there. But it long has been widely agreed that Johnson indeed was the one picking the players who formed the Cowboys' dynasty.
We love to hear Johnson talk about his Cowboys days because he doesn't hold back. Tonight's episode of "A Football Life" (airing at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network) should provide more of the same.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
