Daryl Johnston
{{Short description|American football player and executive (born 1966)}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{BLP sources|date=October 2018}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| image = Daryl Johnston (52650321452) (2).jpg
| caption = Johnston in 2022
| position = Executive vice president of football operations
| current_team = United Football League
| number =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|2|10}}
| birth_place = Youngstown, New York, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 2
| weight_lb = 242
| high_school = Lewiston-Porter {{nowrap|(Youngstown, New York)}}
| college = Syracuse (1984–1988)
| draftyear = 1989
| draftround = 2
| draftpick = 39
| pastteams =
- Dallas Cowboys ({{NFL Year|1989|1999}})
| pastexecutive =
- San Antonio Commanders ({{AAF Year|2019}})
General manager - Dallas Renegades ({{XFL Year|2020}})
Director of player personnel - United States Football League ({{USFL Year|2022}})
Executive vice president of football operations - United States Football League ({{USFL Year|2023}})
President - United Football League ({{UFL Year|2024}}–present)
Executive vice president of football operations
| highlights =
- 3× Super Bowl champion (XXVII, XXVIII, XXX)
- 2× Pro Bowl (1993, 1994)
- All-American (1988)
- First-team All-East (1988)
| statlabel1 = Rushing yards
| statvalue1 = 753
| statlabel2 = Average
| statvalue2 = 3.2
| statlabel3 = Touchdowns
| statvalue3 = 22
| statlabel4 = Receiving yards
| statvalue4 = 2,227
| pfr = J/JohnDa00
}}
Daryl Peter "Moose" Johnston (born February 10, 1966) is an American former professional football player (running back/fullback) who is currently the executive vice president of football operations for the UFL. He played college football at Syracuse University. He was the general manager of the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) in 2019, the director of player personnel for the Dallas Renegades in 2020, and served as the executive vice president of football operations for the revived incarnation of the USFL for its inaugural season.
Early life
Johnston was named Western New York Player of the Year in 1983, while playing for Lewiston-Porter High School (locally known as Lew-Port) in Lewiston, New York. The Lancers won the division during his senior year in 1984. His Lew-Port jersey (number 34) was retired on September 1, 2006. In 2008, he was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.{{cite web |title=Daryl Johnston- Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame |url=https://www.buffalosportshallfame.com/member/daryl-johnston/ |website=buffalosportshalloffame.com |date=July 25, 2012 |publisher=Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame |access-date=November 24, 2020}}
College career
Johnston attended Syracuse University. As a redshirted freshman, he started playing on special teams and would earn the starting fullback position by his sophomore season in 1986.
While playing for Syracuse, Johnston was an All-Big East selection in 1987 and an All-American in 1988. He rushed for 1,830 yards and caught 46 passes during his collegiate career. He once gained 138 yards rushing, the most by a Syracuse running back since Larry Csonka rushed for 154 yards in 1967.
He graduated with a degree in economics.
College career statistics
| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" |
| colspan="2"| Legend |
|---|
| Bold
| Career high |
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="1"| Games ! colspan="4"| Rushing ! colspan="4"| Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | |
| 1985 | Syracuse
| 11 || 10 || 28 || 2.8 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 | ||||||||
| 1986 | Syracuse
| 11 || 102 || 469 || 4.6 || 0 || 17 || 114 || 6.7 || 0 | ||||||||
| 1987 | Syracuse
| 11 || 116 || 614 || 5.3 || 4 || 6 || 87 || 14.5 || 1 | ||||||||
| 1988 | Syracuse
| 11 || 128 || 645 || 5.0 || 5 || 20 || 250 || 12.5 || 0 | ||||||||
| colspan="2"| | 44 | 356 | 1,756 | 4.9 | 9 | 43 | 451 | 10.5 | 1 |
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 1 3/4
| weight = 232
| shuttle = 4.17
| vertical = 28.5
| broad ft = 9
| broad in = 5
| bench = 17
}}
Johnston was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round (39th overall) of the 1989 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=1989 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1989/draft.htm |access-date=May 26, 2023 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} As a rookie, he received his nickname "Moose" from backup quarterback Babe Laufenberg because of his large stature compared to the rest of the running backs.{{cite web |url=http://www.mcpspeakers.com/Speaker/151/Daryl-Johnston.html |title=Daryl Johnston NFL All-Pro and Fox Sports Net Analyst |publisher=MCPSpeakers.com |access-date=May 29, 2005}} The name caught on among Dallas fans who would chant "Moooooose" whenever he made a play.
As a Cowboy, Johnston played in 149 consecutive games from 1989-1997. He also became one of the greatest special teams players in franchise history.
He scored 22 career touchdowns and had more receptions than carries. His 294 receptions is the third-highest number among Cowboys running backs, totaling 2,227 yards for a 7.6 yards average, compared to 232 carries for 753 yards for a 3.2 yards average. In 1993 Johnston had 50 receptions and averaged 7.4 yards per catch.
Due mainly to Johnston's contributions, the NFL created the fullback position in the Pro Bowl.{{cite web |url=http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/sportatorium/2010/12/top_10_best_draft_picks_of_the.php |title=Top 10 Best Draft Although Fullback position in the Pro Bowl goes back as far as Jim Brown! Picks of the Jerry Jones Era |publisher=Dallas Observer |access-date=January 20, 2011 |archive-date=August 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809080535/http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/sportatorium/2010/12/top_10_best_draft_picks_of_the.php |url-status=dead }} Prior to this change, blocking fullbacks had little chance of beating out traditional running backs, who had better statistics. Johnston was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1993 and 1994.
Johnston retired at the end of the 1999 season, after suffering a neck injury in 1997. He was a member of three Super Bowl winning teams.{{cite web |title=Neck injury forces 'Moose' to leave Cowboys |url=http://a.espncdn.com/nfl/news/2000/0613/583086.html |website=a.espncdn.com |publisher=ESPN, Inc. |access-date=November 27, 2020}}
NFL career statistics
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
! rowspan="2"| Season ! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="1"| GP ! colspan="5"| Rushing ! colspan="5"| Receiving | ||||||||||
| GP | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 || DAL
| 16 || 67 || 212 || 3.2 || 13 || 0 || 16 || 133 || 8.3 || 28 || 3 | ||||||||||
| 1990 || DAL
| 16 || 10 || 35 || 3.5 || 8 || 1 || 14 || 148 || 10.6 || 26 || 1 | ||||||||||
| 1991 || DAL
| 16 || 17 || 54 || 3.2 || 10 || 0 || 28 || 244 || 8.7 || 22 || 1 | ||||||||||
| 1992 || DAL
| 16 || 17 || 61 || 3.6 || 14 || 0 || 32 || 249 || 7.8 || 18 || 2 | ||||||||||
| 1993 || DAL
| 16 || 24 || 74 || 3.1 || 11 || 3 || 50 || 372 || 7.4 || 20 || 1 | ||||||||||
| 1994 || DAL
| 16 || 40 || 138 || 3.5 || 9 || 2 || 44 || 325 || 7.4 || 24 || 2 | ||||||||||
| 1995 || DAL
| 16 || 25 || 111 || 4.4 || 18 || 2 || 30 || 248 || 8.3 || 24 || 1 | ||||||||||
| 1996 || DAL
| 16 || 22 || 48 || 2.2 || 7 || 0 || 43 || 278 || 6.5 || 23 || 1 | ||||||||||
| 1997 || DAL
| 6 || 2 || 3 || 1.5 || 3 || 0 || 18 || 166 || 9.2 || 21 || 1 | ||||||||||
| 1998 || DAL
| 16 || 8 || 17 || 2.1 || 6 || 0 || 18 || 60 || 3.3 || 9 || 1 | ||||||||||
| 1999 || DAL
| 1 || – || – || – || – || – || 1 || 4 || 4.0 || 4 || 0 | ||||||||||
| colspan="2"|[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/J/JohnDa00.htm Career] || 151 || 232 || 753 || 3.2 || 18 || 8 || 294 || 2,227 || 7.6 || 28 || 14 |
Legacy
Johnston was considered one of the greatest fullbacks of his day,{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} while blocking for Emmitt Smith, as Smith went on to become the all-time NFL rushing leader. However, Johnston was not the lead blocker for Smith's entire career. A neck injury prematurely ended Johnston's career. Johnston was present the day Smith broke the rushing record; he was in the broadcasting booth, but came down onto the field to hug Smith and congratulate him afterward. As Smith made his victory lap of Texas Stadium after the record-setting carry, Johnston hung back in the shadows. When Smith saw Johnston, the two joined in an emotional embrace, with Smith telling Johnston, "I couldn't have done it without you." Johnston replied, "It was my pleasure. I couldn't imagine doing it for anybody else."{{cite web| url=http://www.playingfieldpromotions.com/Daryl-Johnston.php| title=Daryl Johnston bio | access-date=February 19, 2016}}
In 2010, Johnston was in the audience for Emmitt Smith's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. During his acceptance speech, a visibly emotional Smith spoke directly to Johnston, calling out the fact that, as a fullback, he had sacrificed himself for so many years to block for Smith. "Without you", Smith said, "I know that today would not have been possible."{{cite web| url=http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-hall-of-fame/09000d5d81998fa9/Emmitt-Smith-HOF-speech| title=Emmitt Smith HOF speech | website=NFL.com | access-date=February 19, 2016}}
Broadcasting career
File:RSA-w-Daryl-Johnston (a).jpg
In 2003, Johnston joined the program Players Inc Radio when it moved to Fox Sports Radio. The program was sponsored by NFL Players Inc.{{cite news |title=Closing Bell |url=http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Closing-Bell/2003/07/22/Closing-Bell-July-22-2003.aspx?hl=Sony&sc=0 |work=Sports Business Daily |date=July 22, 2010 |access-date=July 29, 2013}} Since 2013, Johnston has worked as a color commentator alongside Kenny Albert and formerly Dick Stockton. Previously, Johnston was on the second broadcast team with Stockton from 2001 to 2006 and Albert from 2007 to 2013. He also worked with Tony "Goose" Siragusa, until Siragusa's firing from the network following the 2015 season. In 2000, Johnston got his start calling NFL games by working the regular season and doing the High Definition broadcast of Super Bowl XXXV with Kevin Harlan for CBS Sports. He was an analyst for the NFL Network's "Total Access" until 2012. Johnston also began calling the collegiate Cotton Bowl Classic game for Fox in 2009, first with Pat Summerall, and then eventually Kenny Albert. He also was a guest star of the PBS television series Wishbone in its episode "Moonbone". He appears as a regular guest on First Things First on FS1 (2017/2018) with Cris Carter, Nick Wright, and Jenna Wolfe. In 2017, he continued his esteemed broadcasting career with NFL on FOX, teamed with Chris Myers and Laura Okmin. In 2020, he became paired with Kevin Burkhardt and Pam Oliver.{{cite web|title=Fox Shakes Up NFL Broadcast Teams for 2020 Season|url=https://www.radio.com/sports/nfl/fox-shakes-up-nfl-broadcast-teams-for-2020-season|website=Radio.com|date=September 28, 2020}} He was paired with Joe Davis and Pam Oliver as the number 2 crew with FOX, but, for 2024, with Tom Brady’s arrival at FOX, he was demoted to the #5 team alongside Kevin Kugler.
Executive career
In 2018, Johnston became the General Manager of the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football.{{cite web |last=Thomas |first=Terrence |title=Commanders ready to call San Antonio home |url=https://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/pro-sports/article/Commanders-ready-to-call-San-Antonio-home-13255036.php |website=San Antonio Express-News |access-date=October 18, 2018 |date=September 25, 2018}}
On May 15, 2019, he was named Director of Player Personnel for the Dallas Renegades of the new XFL.{{cite news|url=https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-cowboys/xfl/2019/05/15/ex-cowboys-fb-daryl-johnstonhired-director-player-personnel-dallas-xfl-team|title=Ex-Cowboys FB hi isDaryl Johnston hired as director of player personnel for Dallas' XFL team|newspaper=The Dallas Morning News|date=May 15, 2019|access-date=May 16, 2019}}
On November 17, 2021, he was named Executive Vice President of Football Operations.{{Cite web |last=Fischer |first=Ben |title=USFL to reboot in April under Fox ownership|url=https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Morning-Buzz/2021/11/17/USFL.aspx|access-date=April 6, 2023 |website=Forbes |date=November 17, 2021 |language=en}}
On April 6, 2023, he was named the President of Football Operations for the second season of the newest incarnation of the USFL, succeeding league co-founder Brian Woods.{{Cite web |last=Fedotin |first=Jeff |title=Former Dallas Cowboys Star Daryl Johnston Is New USFL President |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jefffedotin/2023/04/06/former-dallas-cowboys-star-daryl-johnston-is-new-usfl-president/ |access-date=April 6, 2023 |website=Forbes |language=en}} With the USFL and XFL's merger to form the United Football League in 2024, Johnston returned to the title of Executive Vice President of Football Operations, serving alongside XFL/UFL president (and fellow Western New Yorker) Russ Brandon.{{Cite web |date=2 January 2024 |title=Moose Johnston will serve as executive V.P. of football operations with UFL |url=https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/moose-johnston-will-serve-as-executive-v-p-of-football-operations-with-ufl?s=08 |website=NBC Sports |language=en-US}}
Personal life
A native of Youngstown, New York, Johnston now resides in Dallas, Texas with his wife Diane, son Aidan, and daughter Evan.
References and notes
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20160605095631/http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2009/06/05/cowboys-top-50-list-no-36-tony-hill Dallas Cowboys Top 50 players]
- {{IMDb name|1716650|Daryl Johnston}}
{{Cowboys1989DraftPicks}}
{{Super Bowl XXVII}}
{{Super Bowl XXVIII}}
{{Super Bowl XXX}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Daryl}}
Category:Alliance of American Football executives
Category:American football fullbacks
Category:American television sports announcers
Category:College football announcers
Category:Dallas Cowboys players
Category:National Conference Pro Bowl players
Category:NFL Europe broadcasters
Category:People from Youngstown, New York
Category:Players of American football from Dallas