Eagles Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson lost his battle with spine cancer passing away today at the age of 68. Johnson was first diagnosed with melanoma back in 2001, but it was in January of this year when he began to complain of back pain. It was then that a tumor on his spine was discovered. He had been on a leave of absence since May.
Johnson had built a reputation as a defensive genius, known for creating elaborate blitz schemes as part of a relentless, attack style of play. In his ten year tenure, the Eagles' defense was consistently ranked near the top of the league. In that time they made the playoffs seven times, appeared in five NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl. All in all, Jonhson spent 22 years as an assistant coach in the NFL.
This past Saturday the Eagles announced that Sean McDermott would replace Johnson as defensive coordinator. Previously McDermott spent eight years as a defensive assistant under Johnson and most recently was the secondary/safeties coach. The Eagles defense appears to be in good hands as he has already indicated that his intention is to maintain a "Johnson Style" defense only adding a few wrinkles along the way.
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