Daryl Peter "Moose" Johnston (born February 10, 1966) is an American former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player (
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
/
fullback) who is currently the executive vice president of football operations for the
UFL. He played
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
at
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
. He was the general manager of the
San Antonio Commanders
The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home games a ...
of the
Alliance of American Football
The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...
(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.
College career
Johnston attended
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
. As a
redshirted
Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...
freshman, he started playing on
special teams
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
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
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
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
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
since
Larry Csonka
Larry Richard Csonka (; born December 25, 1946) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Miami Dolphins. He also played in the NFL for three years with the ...
rushed for 154 yards in 1967.
He graduated with a degree in economics.
College career statistics
Professional career
Johnston was
selected by the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
in the second round (39th overall) of the
1989 NFL draft
The 1989 NFL draft (also known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting) was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 23–24, 1989, at the Marriott Marquis in Ne ...
. 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.
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
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
-
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
. He also became one of the greatest
special teams
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
players in franchise history.
He scored 22 career
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
s 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
The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as:
* International Year for the World's Indigenous People
The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
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
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players.
The format has changed ...
. Prior to this change, blocking fullbacks had little chance of beating out traditional
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
s, who had better statistics. Johnston was selected to the Pro Bowl in
1993
The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as:
* International Year for the World's Indigenous People
The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
and
1994
The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations.
In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
.
Johnston retired at the end of the
1999 season, after suffering a neck injury in 1997. He was a member of three
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
winning teams.
NFL career statistics
Legacy
Johnston was considered one of the greatest fullbacks of his day, 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
Texas Stadium was an American football stadium located in Irving, Texas, a suburb west of Dallas. Opened on October 24, 1971, it was known for its distinctive hole in the roof, the result of abandoned plans to construct a retractable roof.
Th ...
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."
In 2010, Johnston was in the audience for Emmitt Smith's induction into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
. 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."
Broadcasting career
In 2003, Johnston joined the program Players Inc Radio when it moved to
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio is an Radio in the United States, American Sports radio, sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports ...
. The program was sponsored by
NFL Players Inc.
Since 2013, Johnston has worked as a
color commentator
A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...
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
Super Bowl XXXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2000 Baltimore Ravens season, Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2000 New York Giants season, New York Giant ...
with
Kevin Harlan
Kevin Robert Harlan (born June 21, 1960) is an American television and radio sports announcer, and a 3 time National Sportscaster of Year as voted by his peers. The son of former Green Bay Packers President and CEO Bob Harlan, he broadcasts NF ...
for
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...
. He was an analyst for the
NFL Network
NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League NTP and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and N ...
's "Total Access" until 2012. Johnston also began calling the collegiate
Cotton Bowl Classic
The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937.
The game was originally played at its Cotton Bowl (stadium), namesake ...
game for Fox in 2009, first with
Pat Summerall
George Allen "Pat" Summerall (May 10, 1930 – April 16, 2013) was an American professional American football, football player and television sportscaster who worked for CBS Sports, CBS, Fox Sports (USA), Fox, and ESPN Sunday Night Football, ESP ...
, and then eventually
Kenny Albert. He also was a guest star of the
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
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
The ''NFL on Fox'' (also known as ''Fox NFL'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games produced by Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports and televised on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox broadcast network. ...
, teamed with
Chris Myers and
Laura Okmin. In 2020, he became paired with
Kevin Burkhardt and
Pam Oliver
Pam Oliver (born ) is an American sportscaster known for her work on the sidelines for various National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Football League (NFL) games.
Early life and education
Oliver was born in Dallas, Texas. She att ...
. He was paired with
Joe Davis
Joseph Davis (15 April 190110 July 1978) was an English professional snooker and English billiards player. He was the dominant figure in snooker from the 1920s to the 1950s, and has been credited with inventing aspects of the way the game is ...
and
Pam Oliver
Pam Oliver (born ) is an American sportscaster known for her work on the sidelines for various National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Football League (NFL) games.
Early life and education
Oliver was born in Dallas, Texas. She att ...
as the number 2 crew with
FOX, but, for 2024, with
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...
’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
The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home games a ...
of the
Alliance of American Football
The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...
.
On May 15, 2019, he was named Director of Player Personnel for the
Dallas Renegades of the new
XFL.
On November 17, 2021, he was named Executive Vice President of Football Operations.
On April 6, 2023, he was named the President of Football Operations for the second season of the newest incarnation of the
USFL
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
, succeeding league co-founder Brian Woods. 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.
Personal life
A native of
Youngstown, New York, Johnston now resides in
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
with his wife Diane, son Aidan, and daughter Evan.
References and notes
External links
Dallas Cowboys Top 50 players*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Daryl
1966 births
Living people
Alliance of American Football executives
American football fullbacks
American television sports announcers
College football announcers
Dallas Cowboys players
Fox Sports 1 people
National Conference Pro Bowl players
NFL announcers
NFL Europe broadcasters
People from Youngstown, New York
Players of American football from Dallas
Players of American football from New York (state)
Syracuse Orange football players