Jimmy Johnson couldn’t sleep, because he was worried about traffic and no doubt about being late. He’s never late. He can’t stand people who are.
And so he got up early even for him — he plays online bridge around 5 a.m. most mornings. He hopped in his car at 4:30 for the drive north from his six-acre paradise in Islamorada, Fla.
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It was around 6 a.m., when he pulled into the University of Miami’s football parking lot Wednesday. Still dark outside. Quiet.
“Just like old times,’’ he said.
The coach lived a career of early hours and empty parking lots. But he got out of his car Wednesday to see the team he loves above any other and offer a word of encouragement, even inspiration, if he hit he right key.
He’s mostly out of the corporate-talk business right now, no matter how much money is offered. This is his first year officially out of football since high school back in Texas in the 1950s, too, now that he retired from the Fox Sports NFL studio show.
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It should say “retired,” in quotes, because Fox executives just flew him to Los Angeles last weekend for a surprise visit with his old crew — and a surprise send-off to him.
They got a band the 81-year-old coach likes, Boyz II Men, to sing. Jimmy even got a microphone on stage with them. The comedian Bill Barr cracked some jokes. It was Fox’s latest way of saying he’s missed, even if they’ve planned a big project for him this season.
He drove to Coral Gables because his former Hurricane-recruit-turned-coach, Mario Cristobal, asked him to talk to Miami players. As much as he doesn’t like to leave the Keys, he can’t turn down that invitation.
So, he stood in a remodeled room he once commanded and asked these current players about all the former ‘Canes they’ve seen come through the door recently.
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The players threw out names. Michael Irvin. Bryant McKinnie. Frank Gore. On and on with the former greats.
“I said to them, ‘You know why they come back?’ “Jimmy was saying now, driving back to Islamorada. “ ‘All these players and I come back because we’ve got these great memories.’
“I said, ‘Go out and make your memories. Be in shape. Be prepared. Work hard in camp. Be one of those guys that 10 years from now comes back because you’ve made your great memories.’”
It’s a good message for a program that’s lived too long off its past, even if Jimmy didn’t mean it that way. He’s their first fan. And his words are backed by his UM dynasty, his Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl rings and his Miami Dolphins playoff wins.
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He visited with coaches then, including one of his favorite former Dolphins players: UM defensive line coach Jason Taylor. As much as the team took note of him, he did of it too. There was something different than other times he’s talked there through the years.
“Physically, they’re big,’’ he said. “I mean, big. Watching them walk on the field later, they’re impressive.”
How that translates on the scoreboard goes beyond Wednesday, starting with that first game against Notre Dame in a couple of weeks. Some of Jimmy’s Miami memories involve that rare rivalry his teams had with Notre Dame.
“One is the biggest loss Notre Dame ever had,’’ he said of that 58-7 win in 1985.
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He was criticized for running up the score that day, but remembers, “We had backups in most of the second half, and they couldn’t stop them.”
That started all the “Catholics versus Convicts” fun that involved a couple more Miami wins before the other memory Jimmy mentions. That was a 31-30 loss at Notre Dame in 1987, when Cleveland Gary was ruled short on a two-point conversion.
“If we have instant replay, we win that game,’’ he said. “If we have instant replay, (Notre Dame coach) Lou Holtz doesn’t get a national championship, and we get another one.”
ESPN made a documentary for its 30 for 30 series of that rivalry, because it ruled the landscape for a while. But then Jimmy was the center of football drama that keeps playing out.
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Netflix is coming out with a series on the Cowboys in September that team owner Jerry Jones oversaw. One scene had Jerry telling of treatment for Stage 4 melanoma where his experimental treatment involved a meditation exercise of wishing good things for 10 people who made his, “blood boil.”
Jimmy was No. 1, Jerry said. He couldn’t think of a No. 2.
“I can’t get past (Jimmy),” Jerry said.
Memories might be all Jerry has, too, considering the Cowboys haven’t been to a NFC title game since Jimmy’s players left three decades ago. He’ll try again this year.
Jimmy’s life, meanwhile, is all blue skies and flat seas. He’s invited to the box of UM President Joe Echevarria for the Notre Dame game. He’ll watch football alone with wings and beer, just as he wants, most Saturdays and Sundays.
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But as he drives into Islamorada after a busy morning, he’s wondering what day to go fishing.
“Thursday or Friday,’’ he said.
That’s his big decision this season. That’s what he’s earned in “retirement.” That, and enough memories to encourage a Miami team to go grab some of their own.
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