Jerry Jones thanks Jimmy Johnson as his old coach officially goes into Cowboys Ring of Honor

Without question, it took too long for Jimmy Johnson to be put into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor. It probably happened 10, or even 20 years too late.

But the long wait did make the moment even more memorable. And emotional.

About 30 years after Johnson coached his last game with the Cowboys, he was officially put in the Cowboys Ring of Honor at halftime of Dallas' game against the Detroit Lions on Saturday night.

With some of the biggest legends in Cowboys history on the field, including some of the key figures in the Cowboys' championship teams of the 1990s that Johnson was instrumental in building, team owner Jerry Jones introduced his former coach with a heartfelt speech.

"Not only did you inspire your players, and certainly you inspired our fans, but you need to hear how much you personally inspired me," Jones said.

Johnson thanked assistant coaches, players, Cowboys fans and Jones as well.

"People have asked what this means to me. I'm so very, very proud of what we accomplished," Johnson said during his speech on the field. "When I say we, it's a lot of people. But more than anybody else, thank you Jerry Jones for bringing me to the Dallas Cowboys."

At the end, Johnson punctuated his speech with a rousing "How 'bout them Cowboys!" as Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith hugged him with big smiles.

Johnson and Jones had one of the most infamous feuds in NFL history. A power struggle led to Jones and Johnson parting ways despite being in the middle of one of the best dynasties in NFL history. The Cowboys won two Super Bowls with Johnson, and one more without Johnson. Perhaps there would have been many more championships if Jones and Johnson could have co-existed. The Cowboys haven't won a Super Bowl since the end of the 1995 season.

Many former Cowboys were on hand for the occasion. That included Troy Aikman, who was working the game from the ESPN broadcast booth.

For Aikman, who shed tears when Johnson was told he'd made the Pro Football Hall of Fame, it was an important night for him and the rest of the 1990s Cowboys.

"It means everything to me and my teammates, and everybody that was a part of those teams," Aikman said during the first half of the game. "The circle has been closed, tonight at halftime."

There have been other instances of Jones and Johnson putting an end to their feud, including kind words and warm moments between them at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Before the game, Johnson said in a news conference, "I don't think anybody could ever imagine what this means to me."

If the feud wasn't well in their past now, it seemed to be completely over with Saturday's halftime ceremony.

“I think we are past on who gets credit,” Johnson said, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “The two of us working together made history."