There have been 25 coaches throughout the history of the University of Miami, dating all the way back to 1926. Howard Schnellenberger, Butch Davis, Dennis Erickson, UM has been littered with legendary coaches. However, no other head coach is more beloved to Hurricanes fans than Jimmy Johnson, and today, July 16th, we’re celebrating JJ’s 76th birthday.
Jimmy is remembered so fondly at Miami for several reasons. First, Johnson was the head coach in the mid-1980’s for the Hurricanes when UM started to get their reputation for swagger, confidence, and also winning, and winning a lot.
Yes, Miami had won their first national championship in 1983, the year prior to Jimmy’s arrival, but once JJ came to Coral Gables, the Hurricanes took winning to another level.