Post by scorpion42 on Aug 4, 2009 13:11:43 GMT -7
Publisher's Pen
Can Johnson break into Hall of Fame?
Photos
*
jim-johnson-closeup-080409
The late Jim Johnson
Hub Arkush
harkush@pfwmedia.com
Publisher and editor
Posted Aug. 04, 2009 @ 9:57 a.m.
By Hub Arkush
You can count on one hand the number of NFL assistant coaches worthy of consideration for induction into the Hall of Fame for their accomplishments as assistants. thingy LeBeau comes immediately to mind and clearly belongs in Canton, and Monte Kiffin, formerly with Tampa, and Tom Moore in Indianapolis merit consideration, as well. Then there's Jim Johnson, whose 10-year run as defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles ended tragically on July 28 when at the age of 68 he succumbed to cancer.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, who was entering his second season as an NFL coach when Johnson was named the Eagles' defensive coordinator by then-rookie head coach Andy Reid, said upon learning of Johnson's death, "The best friend I have in my life is my dad, and my football dad in a lot of ways probably is Jim Johnson. Jim Johnson pioneered defense in this league. He changed the way defense is played. If there is a Hall of Fame assistant coach in the history of the NFL, it's Jim Johnson."
The first thing you think of when you hear Johnson's name is pressure. He loved to build complex defensive schemes and find new ways to disguise blitzes, but at the end of the day Johnson believed that if you can pressure the quarterback, you'll win football games. Any game in which Johnson was facing a young or inexperienced QB was one in which you wanted to bet on the Eagles, and even against the league's best, the smart money usually favored the Philadelphia defensive coordinator.
With Johnson running the defense from 1999 through 2008, Philadelphia went to one Super Bowl, played in five NFC title games, made the playoffs seven times and had 26 Pro Bowl selections on "D." From 2000-08 the Eagles rank second in the NFL with 390 QB sacks because the first goal of any Johnson defense was to sack the quarterback.
On the passing of his chief lieutenant, Reid said, "This whole Andy Reid regime here that's taken place wouldn't have been possible without Jim. I'm not sure there's a person that I've met that isn't a Jim Johnson fan. He really represented everything this city is all about with his toughness and grit. That's the way he fought his cancer."
Perhaps an even greater testament to Johnson than all the numbers is the fact that Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo, Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, Vikings D-coordinator Leslie Frazier and Sean McDermott, who succeeds Johnson in the role with the Eagles, all got their first NFL coaching jobs from Johnson. Rivera told PFW, "He didn't pretend to have everything figured out, but he'd give you his opinion. People can talk about giving coaches opportunities and things like that, but he really taught me. I'll always be grateful to him for taking the time to teach me and mentor me."
Johnson played collegiately at Missouri under Dan Devine and ironically started at quarterback his senior year. He played tight end for two years for the Bills in the old AFL before turning to coaching. His first job, head coach at Missouri Southern, lasted two years, and it was the only head-coaching job he'd ever have. He reunited with Devine in 1977 at Notre Dame as defensive coordinator and earned a national championship ring that year running the defense while Joe Montana led the offense. When Devine stepped down a few years later, he recommended Johnson for the head-coaching job in South Bend, but it went to Gerry Faust instead.
From 2000-04, Johnson's Eagles defenses ranked fourth, second, second, seventh and tied for second in the NFL in points allowed, and in his final season, which ended in the '08 NFC title game, the "D" was fourth. Perhaps Harbaugh summed up best what Johnson meant to the NFL, when he said, "In football, he was a pioneering and brilliant strategist, changing the way defense is played in the NFL." And there can be no doubt that the game, the players and coaches whose lives he touched, and NFL fans everywhere are all far poorer with his passing.
www.profootballweekly.com/2009/08/04/can-johnson-break-into-hall-of-fame
Can Johnson break into Hall of Fame?
Photos
*
jim-johnson-closeup-080409
The late Jim Johnson
Hub Arkush
harkush@pfwmedia.com
Publisher and editor
Posted Aug. 04, 2009 @ 9:57 a.m.
By Hub Arkush
You can count on one hand the number of NFL assistant coaches worthy of consideration for induction into the Hall of Fame for their accomplishments as assistants. thingy LeBeau comes immediately to mind and clearly belongs in Canton, and Monte Kiffin, formerly with Tampa, and Tom Moore in Indianapolis merit consideration, as well. Then there's Jim Johnson, whose 10-year run as defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles ended tragically on July 28 when at the age of 68 he succumbed to cancer.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, who was entering his second season as an NFL coach when Johnson was named the Eagles' defensive coordinator by then-rookie head coach Andy Reid, said upon learning of Johnson's death, "The best friend I have in my life is my dad, and my football dad in a lot of ways probably is Jim Johnson. Jim Johnson pioneered defense in this league. He changed the way defense is played. If there is a Hall of Fame assistant coach in the history of the NFL, it's Jim Johnson."
The first thing you think of when you hear Johnson's name is pressure. He loved to build complex defensive schemes and find new ways to disguise blitzes, but at the end of the day Johnson believed that if you can pressure the quarterback, you'll win football games. Any game in which Johnson was facing a young or inexperienced QB was one in which you wanted to bet on the Eagles, and even against the league's best, the smart money usually favored the Philadelphia defensive coordinator.
With Johnson running the defense from 1999 through 2008, Philadelphia went to one Super Bowl, played in five NFC title games, made the playoffs seven times and had 26 Pro Bowl selections on "D." From 2000-08 the Eagles rank second in the NFL with 390 QB sacks because the first goal of any Johnson defense was to sack the quarterback.
On the passing of his chief lieutenant, Reid said, "This whole Andy Reid regime here that's taken place wouldn't have been possible without Jim. I'm not sure there's a person that I've met that isn't a Jim Johnson fan. He really represented everything this city is all about with his toughness and grit. That's the way he fought his cancer."
Perhaps an even greater testament to Johnson than all the numbers is the fact that Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo, Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, Vikings D-coordinator Leslie Frazier and Sean McDermott, who succeeds Johnson in the role with the Eagles, all got their first NFL coaching jobs from Johnson. Rivera told PFW, "He didn't pretend to have everything figured out, but he'd give you his opinion. People can talk about giving coaches opportunities and things like that, but he really taught me. I'll always be grateful to him for taking the time to teach me and mentor me."
Johnson played collegiately at Missouri under Dan Devine and ironically started at quarterback his senior year. He played tight end for two years for the Bills in the old AFL before turning to coaching. His first job, head coach at Missouri Southern, lasted two years, and it was the only head-coaching job he'd ever have. He reunited with Devine in 1977 at Notre Dame as defensive coordinator and earned a national championship ring that year running the defense while Joe Montana led the offense. When Devine stepped down a few years later, he recommended Johnson for the head-coaching job in South Bend, but it went to Gerry Faust instead.
From 2000-04, Johnson's Eagles defenses ranked fourth, second, second, seventh and tied for second in the NFL in points allowed, and in his final season, which ended in the '08 NFC title game, the "D" was fourth. Perhaps Harbaugh summed up best what Johnson meant to the NFL, when he said, "In football, he was a pioneering and brilliant strategist, changing the way defense is played in the NFL." And there can be no doubt that the game, the players and coaches whose lives he touched, and NFL fans everywhere are all far poorer with his passing.
www.profootballweekly.com/2009/08/04/can-johnson-break-into-hall-of-fame