USFL President Daryl Johnston Shares the Success of Season One and a Look Ahead

RCB President Chuck Redden with Rotarian Rich Bielen and Daryl Johnston

This week the Rotary Club of Birmingham welcomed USFL President Daryl Johnston as its guest speaker. Johnston discussed the football franchise’s first season and a look ahead to season two kicking off April 15th.

Johnston explained the league’s decision to hold all 40 season one games in Birmingham came down to the state’s passion for the game of football, the ideal size of the city, great facilities, welcoming people, and incredible support from the City of Birmingham. He also discussed USFL’s passion for investing in the communities their teams call home.

“When we come to a city, we don’t want to just be in the city, we want to become a part of the city. And it’s through our youth clinics and our players reaching out and being involved the community with charity ventures. That’s when good things happen, that’s when there’s buy-in from everybody.”

He shared practice sessions at Legion Field gave the Birmingham Stallions confidence to travel and defeat the Philadelphia Stars in the season one championship. Johnston said he told the players how important it is to take time to celebrate the achievement before moving on to the next contest.

Johnston discussed the second season will feature play across hubs in four cities, with added competition from the XFL. Johnston highlighted the exceptional quality of Protective Stadium and the high quality of the leagues’ broadcast capabilities. He discussed player and coaching turnover and how the leagues recruits.

Johnston also discussed his experience playing fullback for the Dallas Cowboys, what football has taught him over the years, and the perspective he hopes to impart to today’s players.

“I will always be grateful for what the game of football has provided and I’ve always wanted to be an ambassador for that,” Johnston said. “The great thing about football is what you learn—on the field, at practice, about yourself, life lessons from your coaches—those things have carried me as far as anything I learned in the classroom in my life.”

About Daryl Johnston
Embarking on his 21st NFL on FOX season, three-time Super Bowl champion and two-time Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl fullback Daryl “Moose” Johnston partners in the FOX NFL broadcast booth with play-by-play announcer Chris Myers. This duo is joined by veteran reporter Jen Hale.

Johnston joined the FOX NFL booth fulltime as an analyst in 2001 after serving one year as game analyst for the NFL on CBS. Initially working with play-by-play announcer Dick Stockton at FOX, Johnston was paired with play-by-play announcer Kenny Albert and on-field analyst Tony Siragusa from 2008-2014. He most recently partnered with play-by-play announcer Chris Myers and reporter Laura Okmin for the 2019 season.

In January 2008, Johnston worked alongside Albert and Barry Alvarez to call the BCS Orange Bowl, and in 2009, he was behind the mic for the BCS Sugar Bowl pitting Alabama and Utah. In July 2010, Johnston joined the NFL Network as a studio analyst for “Total Access.” His other broadcasting credits include co-hosting “Inside the Huddle” with Craig James on KDFW-TV (1996) and “The Daryl Johnston Show” on KXAS-TV (1997), as well as six years on “The Moose Call,” a weekly radio show on KRLD/KLIF in Dallas. Prior to his CBS days, Johnston cut his broadcasting teeth in the booth during FOX’s coverage of the 2000 NFL Europe League season.

Nicknamed “Moose” by former teammate Babe Laufenberg, Johnston became a fulltime starter in 1991 and was a key member of the Cowboys’ three Super Bowl-winning teams (1993, 1994 and 1996). A two-time Pro Bowl selection (1993 and 1994), Johnston played in 149 consecutive games, including postseasons, before sitting out the Oct. 19, 1997, game against Jacksonville with a career-threatening neck injury. He returned in 1998 for all 16 games. However, just one game into the 1999 season, neck problems sidelined Johnston for the remainder of the season. He finished his career with 294 receptions for 2,227 yards and 14 touchdowns, as well as 232 rushes for 753 yards and eight touchdowns. Johnston posted a career-high 50 receptions in 1993.

Born in Youngstown, N.Y., Johnston was a second-round draft pick in 1989 out of Syracuse University, where he was selected as All-American and All-Big East in 1988 while earning his degree in economics. Daryl and his wife Diane, a former Kim Dawson model and current Real Estate agent for Allie Beth Allman, reside in Dallas. They have a son, Aidan, who is a recent graduate from the University of Michigan with a degree in International Studies Political and Economic Development. Their daughter Evan, is a sophomore at Syracuse University studying Sports Management and playing lacrosse.

In 2018, Johnston was named the first General Manager of the San Antonio Commanders, one of eight teams in the then-Alliance of American Football League. He served as Director of Player Personnel for the XFL Dallas Renegades in 2019-2020 and as the Executive Vice President of Football Operations for the USFL prior to becoming President.

Johnston has donated his time to many charities including the Special Olympics, Children’s Cancer Fund, Cystic Fibrosis and Literacy Instruction for Texas (LIFT) and has served as honorary chairman for MDA’s “Aisles of Smiles” campaign. In 1999, Johnston’s numerous community service activities led to his nomination for the prestigious “Whizzer White Humanitarian Award.”

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