Jimmy Johnson: Malachi Toney, Darian Mensah, Hurricane Title Hopes, the Cowboys in 2026

Hard Rock Bet caught up with legendary football coach Jimmy Johnson for a quick interview at an exclusive VIP event at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood earlier this month. Here’s what the two-time Super Bowl champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer had to say.

Malachi Toney is one of the most electric players in college football. What former Cane does he remind you of?

I don’t know that we ever had one like Malachi Toney. He’s so quick. He’s got great hands. He’s a hard worker. I talked to the team before the season, and he was right up front, and he asked me a question. He said: “What type of thing did all of the great players have on the teams that you had?” —  I said the best players I had were our hardest workers – and he’s one of the hardest workers on that Hurricanes team.

What’s the ceiling for Malachi Toney this season?

I think a lot of it has to do with the team. As long as the team has success, then I think Tony’s going to be right up there.

What have you thought of Darian Mensah so far?

He’s a real smart player. He’s got great touch on the ball. He’s an outstanding quarterback, and I think he’ll be an outstanding pro quarterback.

Is this the season the Canes break through and win their first title in two decades?

There’s so many things that go into it. It’s really early. A lot of things can happen throughout the rest of the season. You don’t know how injuries are going to play out. If they can stay healthy, they’ll make a run at it.

Switching gears to the NFL, what do you think of Brian Schottenheimer’s tenure with the Cowboys so far and expectations for the team this season?

Schottenheimer’s done a great job. He’s an outstanding coach. Of course he’s been in the league for a long time. And it looks like they’ve shored up the defense, which was a problem a year ago. They’ve got outstanding offensive players, and so if they can just be a little bit above average defensively, then they’re going to be one of the better teams in the league.

Is there an unknown football story that you’ve never told?

I think back to my Hurricane days. We had so many great players, and they had such confidence. We were going to play Oklahoma for the national championship, and I’ve got players that come running up to me in the pregame meal, and they say, “Coach, coach, we got on the phone and we called Brian Bosworth! We said we’re going to kick his rear end.” — Now they said it a little bit differently than what I said, but what am I going to say? Oh, you shouldn’t have done that? I said, Okay, let’s roll with it.