Jimmy Johnson is a Pro Football Hall of Famer and two-time Super Bowl-winning coach, the last coming 30 years ago this month.

But in 1981, Johnson was a first-year, first-time head football coach at Oklahoma State about to tell Matt Monger he should quit the sport.

Johnson waved Monger, a freshman walk-on from Miami, Oklahoma, to come sit with him in the Lewis Field stands, where he would tell Monger he was wasting his time trying to play football and that it might be time to concentrate on his grades.

Monger didn’t quit, instead becoming an All-Big Eight linebacker his senior season and making 175 tackles, still the second-most by any Cowboy in a single season.

Monger went on to play five seasons in the NFL with the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills. On this episode of Two on OSU, Monger, now a financial advisor in Tulsa, reflects on his three seasons in Stillwater playing under Johnson and how Johnson and a talented coaching staff changed his life.

Episode highlights:
2:43 Jimmy Johnson’s ‘press on’ theme foreshadowed his coaching stardom
3:46 How Johnson inspired loyal players, not mercenaries
5:57 Monger “was a scrub” when he walked on the team
7:50 Jimmy Johnson asked Monger to quit
11:20 A case of mistaken identity helped Monger get on the field
17:15 Johnson was helped by a strong cast of assistant coaches
19:20 The best speech Johnson gave resulted in putting Monger on scholarship

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Episode links:
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsz3eNHZ58YXDCkA3pNiU1A/videos
X/Twitter https://twitter.com/Ben_Hutchens_, https://twitter.com/Sam_Hutchens_
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Show info:
Sellout Crowd https://selloutcrowd.com/ben-hutchens/, https://selloutcrowd.com/sam-hutchens/
Apple Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/me/podcast/two-on-osu-with-the-hutchens-twins/id1705330024
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/7qO7yHblGxM1yK41wQUck7

Credits:
Producer: Jacquelyn Musgrove
Creative Director: Michael Lane
Social media team: Michael Martin, Bobby Howard
Director of Content: Mike Sherman