The WORST MOMENT of Jimmy Johnson's CAREER | Bears @ Dolphins (1997)

In week 9 of the 1997 NFL season, the Miami Dolphins played the Chicago Bears at Pro Player Stadium on Monday Night Football. The week before that game, Dolphins' running back Karim Abdul-Jabbar had the best game of his career, running for 3 touchdowns and guiding the team to a win. But for this game against the Bears? He didn't get one touch in the first half, because he missed practice... to attend the birth of his daughter. This is the story behind Jimmy Johnson's awful decision
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#nfl #dolphins #miamidolphins #miami #mondaynightfootball #mnf #football #sports #highlights #1997 #bears #chicagobears #nflthrowback #nflhistory #nflhighlights
Videos Mentioned:
World Series Conflict: • The CRAZIEST DRAMA Bet...
1997 Packers/Patriots: • The CRAZIEST INDIVIDUA...
Members of the 1997 Dolphins:
Kyle Richardson
Craig Erickson
Olindo Mare
Dan Marino
John Kidd
Ray Nealy
Lawrence Phillips
Shawn Wooden
George Teague
Jerry Wilson
Corey Harris
Bracy Walker
Terrell Buckley
Sam Madison
Bernie Parmalee
Jerris McPhail
Karim Abdul-Jabbar
Tim Jacobs
Irving Spikes
Stanley Pritchett
Calvin Jackson
Roosevelt Potts
Jim Kitts
DeWayne Dotson
Dwight Hollier
Anthony Harris
Zach Thomas
Ronnie Ward
Mike Crawford
OJ Brigance
Derrick Rodgers
John Bock
Tim Ruddy
Everett McIver
Mike Sheldon
Keith Sims
Mike Chalenski
Dunstan Anderson
Barron Tanner
Shane Burton
James Brown
Jeff Buckey
Richmond Webb
Brett Perriman
Fred Barnett
OJ McDuffie
Frank Wainright
Brian Manning
Troy Drayton
Lamar Thomas
Qadry Ismail
Charles Jordan
Ed Perry
Daryl Gardener
Trace Armstrong
Tim Bowens
Danny Stubbs
Jason Taylor
Jimmy Johnson (head coach)
Members of the 1997 Bears:
Jeff Jaeger
Erik Kramer
Rick Mirer
Todd Sauerbrun
Steve Stenstrom
Corey Dowden
Darnell Autry
Ronnie Harmon
Marty Carter
Terry Cousin
Tom Carter
John Mangum
Walt Harris
Raymont Harris
Tony Carter
Rashaan Salaam
Ricky Bell
Tyrone Hughes
James Burton
Anthony Marshall
Mike Dulaney
Michael Hicks
Tony Stargell
Marlon Forbes
Van Hiles
Tremayne Allen
Bryan Cox
Michael Lowery
Ron Cox
Sean Harris
Tony Peterson
Chris Villarrial
Daryl Carter
Casey Wiegmann
Chris Gray
Todd Burger
Andy Heck
Evan Pilgrim
William Schultz
Greg Huntington
Carl Reeves
James Williams
Jon Clark
Jimmy Herndon
Todd Perry
Curtis Conway
Bobby Engram
Fabien Bownes
Eric Smith
John Allred
Keith Jennings
Chris Penn
Ricky Proehl
Harper LeBel
Ryan Wetnight
Alonzo Spellman
John Thierry
Barry Minter
Paul Grasmanis
Mark Thomas
Tyrone Williams
Chris Zorich
Carl Simpson
Jim Flanigan
Dave Wannstedt (head coach)

[@msarzo]

This is PRACTICE! We're talking about PRACTICE! That decision by Jimmy Johnson was asinine, especially with everything you laid out: Great performance overall, birth of KAJ's daughter, permission to miss practice, shitty running back behind KAJ in the lineup. That loss wasn't just to the Chicago Bears. It was also to Karma.

[@jasonfire3434]

Remember Jimmy Johnson had very different standards for his stars. I believe he cut one of his fringe players in Dallas for sleeping through a meeting but said if Troy Aikman had done it he would’ve just whispered to Troy to wake up. So this story doesn’t surprise me. Although Abdul Jabbar was a starter I don’t think he would be considered untouchable.

[@KWCline91]

There was one case where Michael Irvin’s punishment was missing out on the first offensive series of the game because he missed the team flight. He was eventually brought in and finished the game.

[@ericwicker7514]

@@KWCline91 Oh, yeah. I remember hearing about that. He was very upset that Irvin missed the team plane. I heard the story about that. He should have benched him for one quarter.

[@lawsonnall2917]

The player he cut for sleeping during a meeting was John Roper

[@ericwicker7514]

@@lawsonnall2917 I know.

[@16ktsgamma]

In other words Jimmy Johnson has no chill.

[@Coralskipper]

There's a reason Jimmy Johnson retired, and it's not because he was bad at the job. He openly admits that he doesn't like the person he was as a coach

[@DolFan316]

I didn't like that person either 😠

[@KWCline91]

I mean Jimmy was a tough coach that became successful. But I think it got to the point where that success was not going to last long wherever he would end up next. If he had another coaching stint, he probably would’ve ended winning seven games or fewer.

[@CTubeMan]

Johnson also said he didn’t like to be in any coaching job for more than five years. He said when he got hired by the Cowboys he put in his calendar when he’d step down, and he was only off by one day.

[@runrafarunthebestintheworld]

He's pretty funny now though. 😅

[@82dorrin]

Makes me like 62-7 even more.

[@merman78]

That 24-13 win over the Ravens was the second Dolphins game I attended, and the first Fins win I ever saw in person.

[@suicidality2744]

Johnson's entire tenure with the Dolphins was an abysmal failure. He ruined Dan Marino's career. Marino stopped being a Pro Bowl player as soon as Johnson arrived. He changed the offensive philosophy. He made terrible personnel decisions. Didn't get Marino any receivers. The offense ranked near the bottom of the NFL. He stubbornly clinged to the running game even though it wasn't working. Every year he would draft another running back and the cycle would repeat itself. In 98 he took undersized John Avery after trading down 10 spots. He could have had Randy Moss. After the season Johnson would sulk and cry and give some stupid speech about wanting to quit because things weren't working out. His final game was a 62 -7 loss to Jacksonville. Marino's final game also. The worst farewell ever. All because of Johnson's arrogance, ineptitude and believing his own hype.

[@DolFan316]

*HA!!! PREACH AWN, BRUTHA!!! OUT HERE DROPPING TRUTH BOMBS!!!*

[@bena.3955]

This jerk and Parcells are the same. Always talking about leaving their coaching job.

[@bjchit]

He did draft or bring in guys like Zach Thomas, Jason Taylor, Patrick Surtain, Sam Madison, Brock Marion, Robert Jones, and Olindo Mare, but man could he not draft or acquire anyone for the offensive side of the ball. Some of it was just bad luck, like Yatil Green’s knees exploding every time he touch the field, but a lot of it was him ignoring character issues like always.

[@DolFan316]

@@bjchit I LOVE it when people see the truth of things and I know I'm not the only one!!!

[@alwaysright195]

How can you ruin a quarterback with no championships? From the times I watched Marino, he was always throwing to the wrong team. Jimmy want to trade him, but the Dolphins would rather keep on loosing than get rid of Marino

[@chrisp679]

That ought a become a video subject, the Kareem v. Karim lawsuit.

[@Davepool-hs7vr]

Make that happen Jg9

[@ShrexyGuy]

I usually love waking up to JG9 vids, but I can tell this one will just piss me off so I think I'm gonna pass lol

[@LogoAttitude]

This was the game that got pushed to MNF due to game 7 of the World Series (which the Marlins won). It aired on ABC in Chicago and Miami, with the ESPN SNF team of the time on the call.

[@bena.3955]

I saw this game in Yakima,WA but we had satellite 😂

[@marcus813]

Johnson's move made no sense. I'm not sure how he chose to have Irving Spikes, who he knew wasn't on Abdul-Jabbar's level, get all of the HB carries in the 1st half given what happened with KAJ. Also, the way Johnson came at KAJ in the locker room after the win in Baltimore wasn't called for given that KAJ wasn't a chronic fumbler at that point.

[@CTubeMan]

This unofficial Official Jaguar Gator 9 historian will remind everyone you made videos about the following: 1. How Falcons Coach Norm van Brocklin refused to let Al Dodd miss practice to attend the birth of his child. 2. How the two games played on this Monday Night inspired the NFL to think about doing two games every Monday Night in 2003.

[@raymondhopwood9393]

Great players don't necessarily make great coaches, and Norm van Brocklin is proof positive. The Falcons' first HC was arguably their worst.

[@LogoAttitude]

This by the way wasn't the first time the Bears came to Miami for an MNF game. They did so twice before 1997, including a memorable game at the Orange Bowl in 1985 where the eventual champion Bears suffered their only loss of the season. They played at Miami on MNF in 2002 as well.

[@CTubeMan]

Bonus post from this unofficial Official Jaguar Gator 9 historian: You also made a video about how Vikings Coach Brad Childress refused to let Troy Williamson receive his game check for a game he missed in 2007. I won’t go into all the details here, but Vikings leaders took Childress aside and told him he might lose the team if he didn’t pay Williamson. I can imagine Johnson was close to losing the team based on his treatment of KAJ in those two games.

[@cablehogue599]

Johnson was way too obsessed with intense practices and it backfired later in the seasons when the players were being crushed by the heat and humidity after months of football

[@mayduck1]

Cable Hogue great point and it was his rugged practices after a late Sunday playoff win at Seattle in January 2000 led to the 62-7 beating at Jacksonville the following Saturday by the Jaguars. The Dolphins had to travel from Seattle back to Miami and then play the Jaguars in less than 6 days so logic would have the Dolphins practicing lightly tp preserve fresh legs but Johnson who I like made a bad decision with the rugged practices before the Jaguar game like he did in the Bears game with Abdul-Jabbar and this is why his career with the Dolphins was disjointed and ended with a 62-7 loss which is his worst moment as the Dolphins coach.

[@silkychris999]

I remember something similar happening in Houston, one of the o lineman on the '93 Oilers, missed a game due to his wife giving birth to his first child. Bud Adams fined him $111,111 (aka a game's wage). The national media was rightly pissed, calling it "Babygate".

[@nuwildcat90]

It went farther than that. The offensive linemen and his wife were still trying for a child since her previous two pregnancies ended in miscarriages. Thus, heightened concern existed for that one as well. The Oilers argued that he had plenty of time to arrange a flight from Houston to Boston to play the game. Also, the Oilers' OL coach demonstrated an overpowering level of concern by saying something like, "The people that raided the beaches on D-Day didn't ask for the day off so their wife could have a baby."

[@silkychris999]

@@nuwildcat90 Holy crap. I had no clue it was that insane, I just knew the basics.

[@dangeiger9796]

I remember this game well, but I didn’t know about this situation. You could have a video about the Karim Abdul Jabbar name situation

[@grinningchicken]

That was a totally dumb feud from one of my childhood hero’s

[@curtismcneil8695]

I am a long time Dolphins fan and honestly wasn't overly impressed with Jimmy Johnson.

[@timn8285]

I'm a huge bears fan and they were ugly to even watch during this time. Thanks for the reminder lol.

[@DolFan316]

And then the Dolphins looked at how Wannstedt ran the Bears into a ditch and said, "We MUST hire this guy as our head coach!" (Facepalms.)

[@danielgrassi4343]

@@DolFan316 well Dolphins fans should thank their Messiah Jimmy Johnson he handpicked him to be next coach. After he quit on the Dolphins after getting blown out by the Broncos he suggested I’ll only comeback if Dave Wannstupid is next coach. Of course stupid Wayne Huzengia said sure. Wayne Huzengia was his own worst enemy

[@Sephiroth766]

Bears messed up this season. They won 3 of their last 5 games to finish 4-12, and dropping their draft pick to 5th. They could have drafted Peyton Manning had they continued losing. Instead they took Curtis Enis lol

[@silverback7675]

Ufff Curtis P Enis

[@LogoAttitude]

The NFC Central and AFC East teams that played on October 27, 1997 had their respective rivalries bookend the 1997 MNF season - Bears at Packers week 1 and Patriots at Dolphins week 17.

[@sabgab]

Capt Hairspray BLEW this one BIG TIME!!!

[@EdBurke37]

This sounds like something Vince McMahon would've done to his wrestlers. Cause I'm pretty sure he did.

[@CTubeMan]

SHUT UP!!!

[@laserfist1201]

Ricky Steamboat?

[@LogoAttitude]

This also was one of the few night home games in which the Dolphins wore white jerseys. Usually this happens because the game was intended for Sunday afternoon, exceptions being their night home games in 1996.

[@Mateogreat]

losing that game was unaccepted as a dolphin fan i was so pissed that night

[@DolFan316]

IKR? First, they score 33 and lose to the 0-7 Bears, then the next game they hold the Bills to 9 and lose AGAIN!!! Went from 5-2 to 5-4 and that reason along with the rest of JJ's tenure was never the same again (sighs).

[@j.a.greene3523]

Jimmy Johnson also cut a player because he had asthma.

[@BrentHarmon]

That's true he even cut kick for missing a field because of the contract hold that Emmett Smith was in.

[@Seanpatf66]

Not one person who was a Notre Dame fan in 1985 felt sympathy for Jimmy Johnson, when the Dolphins lost 62-7 to the Jaguars in the playoffs. Back in ‘85, Notre Dame lost to the University of Miami 58-7 in the Orange Bowl, in what was Gerry Faust’s last game as Notre Dame’s Head Coach. This would usher in the Lou Holtz era.

[@andrewschultz6608]

Man. I'd forgotten what a terrible person Jimmy Johnson could be.

[@sparkypikachu7776]

Heyo! You make great videos keep it up and push through all the hate comments you've been getting!

[@Wildcat_Media]

What kind of message does it send that a guy gets benched for putting his family first and actually showing up for the birth of his daughter, when so many “fathers” are completely absent from their kids’ lives? This is inexcusable.

[@AEMT-ks4so]

The statement that Jimmy had personal issue with him holds no weight. That was always the kind of coach Jimmy was. I dont remember which America's game it was but Troy Aikman (i think) said that they were afraid to lose because of Jimmy's coaching style

[@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820]

As a Cowboys fan who constantly sees fellow fans whining about how Jimmy would have cut this guy for (insert tiny mistake) cause he was a real tough FOOTBAWL coach, this is probably the least surprising video ever.

[@RobWitterschein]

They really needed to trade Marino with Johnson there. They couldn’t mesh, and Johnson would’ve been better with his own QB and Marino needed to be on a SB contending team

[@robertpaige4505]

Ownership literally wouldn't let him. When I heard that at the time, my first response was "Then why did you sign him? That's what he does!"

[@hezamachine]

Chris Berman used to call Karim Abdul-Jabbar highlights as if he was calling a basketball game as Marv Albert.

[@AndreiKenshin24]

It was originally scheduled on Sunday caused in Game 7 of the World Series

[@texasscifi3431]

Man it was a very different era when babies were born. I remember the Houston Oilers controversy

[@johncatalano7185]

Jimmy Johnson had one of the biggest egos in NFL history..........

[@bena.3955]

Abdul Jabbar should have demanded a trade from this joke of an organization and coach.

[@CTubeMan]

This reminds me of a couple of stories involving the late great Rush Hudson Limbaugh III: 1. Rush said Johnson told his parents not to come out to Pasadena for his first Super Bowl, though Rush corrected the story once he got more details. 2. Since I saw someone talk about the 1993 Oilers and the David Williams situation, Rush said both Williams and the Oilers were right in their own ways in that situation.

[@alewis4612]

I’m not seeing the cards in the upper right corner. How do I view them?

[@OfficialJaguarGator9]

That’s odd. Must be a KZbin error. However, I put a link to all the vids in the description if you couldn’t see it for some reason

[@alewis4612]

@@OfficialJaguarGator9 Thank you.

[@DolFan316]

@@OfficialJaguarGator9 Yeah, I've never been able to see them either, but if I want to I just go to a team history page on your channel.

[@PGar58]

Fact: the Dolphins KAJ also went to UCLA and wore No. 33

[@stevenvitte]

I wonder if he ever met the Hall of Famer Bucks/Lakers KAJ? (Edit: Oh yeah, that lawsuit...)

[@penoakeo]

@@stevenvitte the basketball one sued the football one over the name

[@toddbiesel4288]

Formerly known as, not Roger Murdock, but Sharmon Shah.

[@kayleighlehrman9566]

Jimmy Johnson, Survivor *legend*!

[@mkepioneet]

I got nothin' to add outside of: man what a beautiful name for your daughter

[@Mateogreat]

kaj was a medicore back anyway 3.6 yards a carry or less most years

[@jackmessick2869]

That child is 25 now. I'm old...

[@phillyfan-182]

Oh in 1993 Houston oilers offensive lineman David Williams missed a game because his wife had a baby and he was fined a game check

[@karenduguid3943]

Not sure if it's my phone but the video quality is awful! So blurry I can't see it. I'm watching on my Samsung galaxy A71

[@danielgrassi4343]

Honestly are we surprised that Jimmy Johnson did this as a 20 year old Dolphins fan im not shocked. I just don’t get what majority of Dolphins fans saw in JJ. I would’ve taken a 66 year old Shula over this quitter. He even divorced his wife when he go the Cowgirls job. Oh by the way looking at his track record of coaching did Dolphins fans actually thought he was gonna stay a long time 😂😂😂 the longest he has ever stayed was five years then jump ship

[@stevengrvp]

All I remember is NFL primetime Chris Berman love Kareem Abdul

[@stevengrvp]

@@matthewdaley746 what?

[@stevengrvp]

@@matthewdaley746 that got nothing to do with Karim and how excited Berman got

[@stevengrvp]

@@matthewdaley746 a video about a game in 1997 has nothing to do with what you're writing about

[@stevengrvp]

@@matthewdaley746 no you are making this about Berman today not Berman in 1997 so go run because you can't get your way

[@hezamachine]

Berman used to call Karim Abdul-Jabbar highlights as if he was calling a basketball game as Marv Albert.

[@ravenheaven2425]

Didn't realized Jimmy Johnson had a hypocritical moment in his career. I definitely can NOT respect his decision on this matter.

[@darreljones8645]

@8:24: Sorry, JG9, but Islam is a religion, not a language. It would be like saying "amen" means "may it be done" in Judaism. I think you meant to say that's what the name means "in Arabic".

[@garrettwoods4528]

I think he was "sending a message" to other players to not miss a practice. I also wonder if he had issues with this player being Muslim. Regardless, definitely taints Jimmy Johnson's legacy some. Such a dumb decision. You don't demote a player for the birth of a baby. Late to practice or skipping practice? Sure!

[@phillyfan-182]

In todays world that wouldn’t happen since we have paternity leave

[@merman78]

This was an epic collapse in 1997, but the Dolphins bigger collapses that season were all 3 games vs New England. oy vey!

[@sen74diehard]

Great F-ing coach ! But………. Dam! I always get crap for saying this because it is unpopular. He is as much to blame as Jerry was in the short run of super bowls they F’d up. Short because it could have been long and Jimmy did quit no matter how you slice it and dice it!

[@andrewgrove1691]

I remember this. Disgusting act

[@runrafarunthebestintheworld]

What a Disgusting act by Jimmy Johnson. Joe Buck got it wrong again.

[@big8dog887]

Pat Riley would never have done that.

[@chriswahl4139]

while Johnson had success he let it consume him, there was also an incident in 1992 after a tough loss at Washington where he went off on some of his players on the flight home

[@stever7157]

I read that book. It really made him look like an asshole by bullying the fringe players on the team for no good reason other than being pissed about losing and having too many Heinekens.

[@DolFan316]

@@stever7157 I still have that book!!! Hard to believe it was written by Skip Bayless of all people, who was a completely different person at that time than the caricature he would soon become. The backup player JJ went off on for no reason was C Frank Cornish IV, who was the son of former backup Dolphins DT Frank Cornish III, who played for the '71 team before being traded to the Bills for a '73 5th round pick that would be used on Don Strock.

[@stever7157]

@@DolFan316 That sounds familiar. I read that Frank Cornish passed away in 2008 of heart disease at only 40 years old. Another player who I remember JJ going after was backup running back Tommy Agee.

[@MarinersFalloutfan]

So what you're saying is Jimmy Johnson is based af

[@steveg4082]

JJ worships his own authority above winning or family, especially an employee’s family. Whenever he goes to church or endorses the importance of family, he is a hypocrite.

[@JakeSmith-rv1hm]

Another way too long video

[@SECRETARIATguy224]

Silly. Just . . . silly. Johnson was a great coach. Those 92 and 93 Dallas teams could compete with any of the great teams of all-time. In fact, I was always kind of shocked whenever those teams lost. My theory on benching this guy [and it's a theory that I completely disagree with, for the record] is that KAJ wasn't in his mind the kind of back he wanted to lead his offense. He wanted another Emmitt Smith, he hadn't found him yet, and his view on KAJ was decidedly . . . meh. Because of that, he decided to use the guy skipping practice to send a message to everyone else. Johnson did the same thing at Dallas when he cut John Roper for falling asleep in a film session. Silly.

[@DolFan316]

KAJ led the league in rushing TDs in '97 behind the worst run blocking Fins O-line ever. Yeah, he wasn't like Emmitt at all! 🙄 Also, he was a Hall Of Famer compared to all the other bumblers, busts and bums JJ drafted on offense. We're talking about somebody who decided to pass up Randy Moss so he could get...John Avery instead! Yes, this was actually a thing that actually happened.

[@SECRETARIATguy224]

@@DolFan316 I didn't say that I agree with what Johnson did here. It was stupid, but I'm sure that that's what he was thinking . . . that KAJ wasn't a guy he had confidence in for whatever reason, and decided to be a dick to, in his way-off-base-here mind, would serve a greater purpose. Dumb.

[@turbochargedsports6327]

@@DolFan316 Wow... that makes you wonder how explosive Marino to Moss would have been... 🤔

[@DolFan316]

@@SECRETARIATguy224 Oh. Okay. It seemed like you were defending him. I get it now.

[@SECRETARIATguy224]

@@DolFan316 Nope. No defense for this one.

[@stevenbauer4799]

jimmy wasn't exactly the nicest coach. he was a hard ass and didn't mind calling out star players like marino saying he was washed up and keeping the dolphins from winning that last season.

[@nuwildcat90]

I remember the name controversy. Sharmon Shah changed his name while at UCLA to Karim Abdul-Jabbar after speaking with the imam. Either the imam thought it would be cute, was one of the most incredulous people in history since the RB also wore #33 as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did.