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Sadly, Jim Johnson's fight ends
Former Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson’s courageous battle with melanoma is over.
Johnson, 68, passed away Tuesday afternoon according to the Eagles.
Johnson took a turn for the worse recently according to sources, and the muffled talk at Eagles training camp Tuesday morning was he was fighting to stay alive.
Head coach Andy Reid visited Johnson Monday night according to a source.
Except for a stiff back, Johnson was the picture of health before the melanoma recurred. The end was difficult.
“He’s in a better place,” an Eagles assistant coach said.
Eagles president Joe Banner and head coach Andy Reid are going to address the media this evening.
Johnson stepped aside as defensive coordinator after 10-plus years last week, and protégé Sean McDermott took over.
Johnson had been unable to coach since the minicamp in early May.
Johnson, 68, took another turn for the worse recently according to sources and the muffled talk at Eagles training camp Tuesday morning was he was fighting to stay alive.
Reid visited Johnson Monday night according to a source.
Johnson stepped aside as defensive coordinator after 10-plus years last week, enabling protege Sean McDermott to take over the job for the start of training camp.
Johnson has been unable to coach since the early May minicamp due to the melanoma that sapped his strength and compounded the pain from a lower back condition.
Johnson, nonetheless, coached that entire camp from the seat of a scooter that got him around the practice field.
Johnson, 68, passed away Tuesday afternoon according to the Eagles.
Johnson took a turn for the worse recently according to sources, and the muffled talk at Eagles training camp Tuesday morning was he was fighting to stay alive.
Head coach Andy Reid visited Johnson Monday night according to a source.
Except for a stiff back, Johnson was the picture of health before the melanoma recurred. The end was difficult.
“He’s in a better place,” an Eagles assistant coach said.
Eagles president Joe Banner and head coach Andy Reid are going to address the media this evening.
Johnson stepped aside as defensive coordinator after 10-plus years last week, and protégé Sean McDermott took over.
Johnson had been unable to coach since the minicamp in early May.
Johnson, 68, took another turn for the worse recently according to sources and the muffled talk at Eagles training camp Tuesday morning was he was fighting to stay alive.
Reid visited Johnson Monday night according to a source.
Johnson stepped aside as defensive coordinator after 10-plus years last week, enabling protege Sean McDermott to take over the job for the start of training camp.
Johnson has been unable to coach since the early May minicamp due to the melanoma that sapped his strength and compounded the pain from a lower back condition.
Johnson, nonetheless, coached that entire camp from the seat of a scooter that got him around the practice field.
posted by Eagles Blogger Room at
11:34 AM
11 Comments:
good luck jim your the best d cordinator i'll ever see
God bless Jim Johnson. So sad.
Keep fighting Jim. Just keep fighting.
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God Bless you Jimmy!! You are still the best!!
I'm a huge Cowboys fan and I hated having to see the Eagles defense twice a year because of Jim Johnson. His defense was always better than the sum of it's parts. While I'll be glad the Boys won't have to face him on Sundays I am very sorry to hear about his health. I always thought he was selling himself short by not exploring head coaching opportunity's.
Even though I'm a Giants fan, it's impossible not to respect Jim Johnson and the type of success he's had as a defensive coordinator. He's never really had aspirations as a head coach, or there would be five teams offering his a contract every offseason. As a Giants fan, I won't miss the defense (not that the Eagles' scheme is going to change that much), but it sounds like the Eagles and the NFL are going to lose a great man. My prayers to Mr. Johnson and his family.
RIP Jim and God bless your family.
As a Dallas fan, my condolences to Jim's family and the Eagles organization. We may be enemies on the field, but always a NFC East family. Its always sad to see a great coordinator go. I will miss his schemes.
An earlier post said it best. His sum was greater than the parts. That's the best complement you can give a coach on the field and off the field he was a great person. My prayers go out to his family. Thanks for all the memories Jimmy J. As a diehard Eagle fan hopefully he'll continue what he loved doing most and guiding us from above.
Trying to keep up with sports while in the military is almost impossible. When I heard about JJ though, it was like a blow in the stomach! It's hard to imagine not seeing him on the sidelines this season! God Bless you JJ, you will be missed. My condolences to his family for the loss of a great man.
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