Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson dishes on the life of an NFL coach -- on and off the field -- in his new memoir

Just about every offseason, various NFL coaches, general managers and owners drive through the Everglades seeking wisdom at the end of an ordinary, 20-mile stretch of road into the Florida Keys.

It's the only route to encounter Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson, whose accolades include a national championship with the University of Miami and two Super Bowl titles with the Dallas Cowboys. Johnson's proven knack for team building and talent evaluation is what the visitors ultimately seek, as if that knowledge were the fountain of youth for an unforgiving league Jerry Glanville famously coined, "Not For Long."

Bill Belichick, an NFL coach since 1975 and a six-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, has remained close with Johnson throughout the decades and frequently makes offseason sojourns to South Florida. If you ask Johnson, Belichick is the coach whose philosophies most resemble his own -- despite the obvious difference in their public personalities. And Belichick's visits are just as calculated as you'd imagine.

"He always has an agenda," Johnson told NFL.com last week over a video call from his natural habitat. "He wants to talk about doing contracts, or he wants to talk about drafting players, evaluating talent, you name it. He always has it scheduled, as far as what he wants to talk about."

Johnson chronicles the visits from Belichick, among others, in the opening chapter of his new book, Swagger: Super Bowls, Brass Balls, and Footballs -- A Memoir, which is co-written by sports columnist Dave Hyde. After all, it's those offseason visits that sparked the idea for this project in the first place.

"Originally, I didn't care anything about doing a book," Johnson said. "I did a book after the first Super Bowl, but my attorney, Nick Christin, said, 'You've got so many people, coaches, general managers, owners, come down to the Keys to talk about evaluating talent and building a team.' And then I speak to so many companies about the same thing -- evaluating talent -- and building a successful team. He said, 'You need to write a book and talk about it.' "