“How ’bout them Cowboys?” Jimmy Johnson didn’t just shout that line. He set it off. That famous tirade following Super Bowl XXVII was more of a mission statement than a celebration. And it was the climax of a rebuild that created a dynasty out of one of football’s worst teams. The Dallas Cowboys were sitting on a 3-13 season and a great deal of despair when Johnson took over the franchise in 1989. It was just one day after Jerry Jones had purchased it. Five years later, they were back-to-back Super Bowl champions.
From a 1-15 first season to hoisting Lombardi trophies, Johnson’s Cowboys were fast, violent, fearless, and as chaotic as they were dominant. He didn’t just revive a franchise. He hard-wired it into the DNA of 90s football.
But the legendary Michael Irvin, one of Johnson’s most loyal warriors, claims that excellence came at a price. Irvin in the America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys trailer on Netflix, “The road to a championship is never paved smoothly. It’s always paved with peaks and valleys…He [Johnson] made practice hell. So the game is heaven.” That’s not just a dramatic quote. It’s an unfiltered dose of Jimmy Johnson’s truth. And Irvin doesn’t waste any time in revealing what it was like to live through Johnson’s rule in the recently released trailer for the Netflix documentary series, which premieres on August 19. It was cruel, brutal, but also personal. And Johnson didn’t hold back either. He growls at a player in the trailer, saying, “Asthma my a–. Get over there on that other field and have asthma.”
Experience the historic rise of one of the greatest teams in all of sports.
AMERICA’S TEAM: THE GAMBLER AND HIS COWBOYS premieres August 19. pic.twitter.com/j7xvOMitNI
— Netflix (@netflix) June 30, 2025
Irvin has long discussed how Johnson shaped people, not just athletes. He fought back tears when he described how Johnson built character in guys who came “from a lot of broken areas” during a Fanatics View podcast appearance. And it worked. The Cowboys were the only real NFL dynasty of the 1990s under Johnson, who led them to a 50-22 record in his final four seasons.
The documentary series America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys is directed by Emmy-winning filmmakers Chapman and Maclain Way. It promises raw, behind-the-scenes access to the dynasty’s wildest period. It includes first-person testimonies from Barry Switzer, Deion Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, Jerry Jones, and, of course, Irvin and Johnson. The trailer paints a picture of drama, dysfunction, and unmatched football dominance. In the clip, Jerry Jones reminds us with a grin, “There’s a soap opera 365 days a year…We do it our way, baby.” And Irvin’s quote sums up the high-stakes culture Johnson engineered. It was never about comfort. It was pain now, heaven later. But just when you thought Irvin couldn’t dominate more screens, he casually reminds everyone he’s got Hollywood range too.
Michael Irvin goes from Cowboys Doc to Christmas film with a Baldwin
The Hall of Famer is writing fresh chapters and not just reflecting on his past. Irvin posted a movie poster this past weekend for his upcoming picture, Christmas Eve, which will be released in November. You know who’s playing his co-star? Yes, Stephen Baldwin. No, the film isn’t about football. He’s not playing himself, either. Irvin takes on the role of Pastor Dave Williams, a central character in a wild story that, somehow, involves Pablo Escobar.
The film was first announced earlier this year and is based on a global project called Epic Journey, a film that aired on Daystar TV and reached over 80 million homes. Now, Irvin’s diving headfirst into narrative cinema, and loving every second of it.
This isn’t Irvin’s first time in front of the camera. He had a memorable role in The Longest Yard back in 2005, showing off the same magnetic energy he used to bring on Sundays. But Christmas Eve? That’s next level. It’s part testimony, part thriller, part Irvin-as-pastor-counselor-vibe, and Cowboys fans are already lining up to support it.
So, whether he’s exposing Jimmy Johnson’s training camp nightmares or helping convert fictional cartel victims, Michael Irvin is still showing up, still bringing the fire, and still living a life that’s anything but boring. Pastor Dave might be preaching the gospel, but Irvin? He’s living one.
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