“I’m proud to be the head football coach of the Dallas Cowboys,” were the exact words by Jimmy Johnson that marked the start of a dynasty. Many consider Johnson as the architect of the Cowboys’ dominance in the early 1990s—a reputation he built through dominance and “asthma”! Just when the newspapers were dubbing the team as a joke, the then HC didn’t just change their fortunes; he brought a revolution that the Cowboys may not witness again. And perhaps that is the exact reason why even 31 years later, his former QB Troy Aikman leaves no stone unturned when it comes to talking about Johnson…

But we before we get to the meat of the story, let’s see what sets the coach part from his predecessors and successors…Well, his first season with the Cowboys saw them finish with an abysmal 1-15 record, and missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. At the time, the team was the second-ever team in history to finish 1–15 since the NFL adopted a 16-game schedule in 1978. But it didn’t take him long for Johnson to put his message on the board.

Alongside future Hall of Famer Aikman, whom they picked as the No. 1 overall in 1989, the Cowboys slowly started to find their footing.

Their first winning season came in 1992 when the duo clinching Super Bowl XXVII (after a blistering 13-3 run) by picking up a massive 52-17 victory over the Bills, with Aikman leading from the front—the QB had 273 passing yards and 4 touchdowns during the game. And that was the moment the Cowboys knew they had finally kick-started their era of dominance. Well, Johnson went on to win another Super Bowl a year later, thereby going down as one of the seven coaches ever to win consecutive Lombardis, and leaving ‘The Boys’ with a 44-36 regular season record, and a 7-1 mark in the playoffs, after five seasons.

So it felt right that Aikman paid tribute to his former coach by putting the caption #winner. Because he was at the heart of everything that went down with the Cowboys in the early 1990s.

Taking to his Instagram stories, Aikman shared a documentary featuring Jimmy Johnson’s time with the team. And just watching the clip, you could probably say Johnson was simply feared and respected by his players. One of them even said, “Losing is Unacceptable.” Even former Dallas WR Michael Irvin was found in that trailer saying, “When it comes to moving men, there was no one better than coach Johnson.”

And last but not least, Troy Aikman chimed in with his thoughts, “There wasn’t a minute that I was around him in the two years that I played for him, that I and everyone on the football team didn’t know who the head coach was.” But still, Aikman seems to have a little pang in his heart….Not for him, but for Johnson. Why, you ask? The coach was reportedly not appreciated as much as he should’ve been.

So when Johnson finally received that elusive Pro Football Hall of Fame induction in 2020, no one was happier than the former QB: “Jimmy has never been appreciated in Dallas for what he accomplished. He’s a revered figure here in Dallas, but he’s never been thanked. He’s never stood on the field and/or a podium and had the fans show him how much they appreciate him. A lot of us have had that because of Jimmy. Now, he’s going to have his day.”

But maybe that’s also because Johnson was as ruthless as one can be. Some even describe him as “possessed”. He literally worked 16 hours a day, 11 months a year. When Johnson wasn’t coaching, he would spend the rest of his time taking notes from multiple football games on the television screens, sometimes even in restaurants between meals. But that’s the exact standard he set for his players as well, which brings us to the infamous asthma incident…

It was just another practice day for the squad, when a kicker struggled to run sprints and complained of having asthma. However, Johnson was far from impressed. “Asthma, my a**. Get over there on that other field and have some asthma! You’re on the wrong field to have asthma!” the coach had reportedly said, pointing toward the parking lot nearby.

But Johnson is a changed man now. In the coach-turned-analyst’s own words in 2021, “Terry Bradshaw says when I was coaching, and even in my early days at Fox, I was a complete jerk. The person I was on the sidelines and the person I am now are complete opposites.”

And even Aikman seems to agree that the coach is much more than his intense outer demeanor. “He lives each day like he’s living the last day of his life, but he’s still a complicated guy. There’s still a small circle of people he lets in. He’s protective of his territory, but he’s so awesome, fun and generous once you are on the inside. He’s so complicated and brilliant, but his edges are a little softer and a rounded version than before. I enjoy that about him so much. I have never been more proud of any friendship than mine with Jimmy,” he had said.

But enough about the coach’s antics for now, as the community’s attention has now turned to a possible health condition interfering with Troy Aikman’s life.

Fans razor-sharp eyes catch Troy Aikman in a possibly unhealthy condition

Just last month, when the Cowboys Hall of Famer was calling out the NFL’s Ravens vs Chargers clash, fans caught something concerning. After starting his analysis of the Ravens’ 30-23 win over the Chargers, the NFL fans were distracted by something else. They took to social media and started expressing their concerns about the former Super Bowl Champion. Apparently, they saw marks on his eyelids where dried blood was present.

This led to a whirlwind of messages where one wrote, “Troy Aikman has a cut above his right eye, and that concerns me.” There was another who asked others whether they could also see those bruise marks, “Anyone else notice the bruising on Troy Aikman’s eyes and eyelids.” Well, their concerns aren’t just baseless and could be true to some extent. Because Aikman is a survivor of Stage II Melanoma, a type of skin cancer. In 2018, he opened up on his battle with the same, that fortunately doctors caught early, “I had no idea what melanoma was. I got educated in a real hurry, and it scares you. I was fortunate that they caught it really early.”

So the concerns of fans are justifiable to be honest, seeing their former QB looking a little different. Like another fan said, “I can’t understand anything Troy Aikman is saying because. I can’t stop staring at his eyelids, which appear to be bleeding.” While Aikman didn’t share any updates on the fans’ concerns, he continues to call games on Monday Night Football. And we just hope it isn’t anything to be worried about down the line.