Jimmy Johnson says former Chiefs assistant spied on teams long before Patriots
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Jimmy Johnson alleged Howard Mudd stole signals years before Spygate.
- ESPN says some voters urged delaying Belichick’s induction as penance for 2007 scandal.
- Johnson argues use of Spygate was done by the Chiefs, others.
When Marty Schottenheimer was hired as Chiefs head coach ahead of the 1989 season, Tony Dungy was among his assistants.
Dungy later guided the Colts to a Super Bowl XLI title, and Howard Mudd was the offensive line coach. He also was part of Schottenheimer’s first staff with Dungy, which is likely how they came to know one another.
Mudd’s name came up Wednesday morning as former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson continued to vent on social media about Bill Belichick reportedly not bing chosen for the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
ESPN reported Belichick, who won six Super Bowl titles with the Patriots, didn’t receive the necessary 80% of votes from Hall committee members.
That story noted that former NFL executive Bill Polian was among the voters.
“A voter who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Polian, an ardent (Patriots owner Robert) Kraft supporter and former general manager of the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts — a chief Patriots rival during their dynasty — told some voters he believed Belichick should ‘wait a year’ before induction as penance for Spygate, the 2007 cheating scandal that cost the team a first-round draft pick,” ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham wrote.
The Patriots were accused of videotaping the Jets’ coaches sending signals on the sideline in that kerfuffle.
But Johnson, who won a pair of Super Bowl championships with the Cowboys, lashed out at Spygate being the reason for Belichick not being selected. And Johnson claimed Mudd did the same thing while with the Chiefs
“If they are using the EXCUSE of spygate that’s ridiculous…many teams (including ourselves) tried it..Howard Mudd at Kansas City who later coached for Bill Polian and Tony Dungy gave us the idea..he was the best..we didn’t get anything and stopped but many teams gave it a try,” Johnson wrote on X.
Whether Johnson was talking about Mudd, who died in 2020, simply stealing signals while with the Chiefs or actually videotaping other teams isn’t known. But it was an interesting revelation from Johnson.
