PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NFL : Johnson: Interest in Dolphins Is Obvious

For the first time in 26 years, the job Jimmy Johnson wants most is vacant--and he is interested.

“I’ve got to sit down with Wayne Huizenga,” Johnson said Saturday on Fox’s NFL pregame show, referring to the owner of the Miami Dolphins. “Obviously, I’m interested. Obviously, I love living in South Florida. But until you sit down, you can’t say what you might do.”

Johnson tops Huizenga’s list of candidates and often has said that if he returns to the NFL, he’d prefer to do it in Miami. Opportunity knocked Friday when Don Shula resigned, ending his record-setting reign with the Dolphins that began in 1970.

Johnson said he has not talked with Huizenga about the job yet.

According to a source close to the Dolphins, other candidates include Florida Coach Steve Spurrier, Kansas City Chief Coach Marty Schottenheimer and Pittsburgh Steeler Coach Bill Cowher.

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New York Giant quarterback Dave Brown will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee this week, and is expected to need two to four months to recuperate, the team said. Brown, who becomes a free agent this month, damaged cartilage in a game Oct. 29. He wore a brace on the knee for the rest of the season. The Giants also announced that General Manager George Young had received a multi-year contract extension. Young, 65, has held the position since 1979. . . . Cleveland offensive coordinator Steve Crosby, who had been with the Browns for six seasons, has resigned to look for another job.