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John Smallwood: Feeling Jim Johnson's presence at Eagles training camp
BETHLEHEM - Sean McDermott doesn't view it as a growing cloud hovering around him.
The Eagles' rookie defensive coordinator does not fear the huge shadow of legendary coordinator Jim Johnson growing into an enveloping force, after Johnson's passing on Tuesday.
In fact, it's just the opposite. After all, Johnson looked out for McDermott virtually since the first day they met.
"I had an office across the hall at Veterans Stadium from Jim and I was operating at the time as [coach Andy Reid's] assistant," McDermott said yesterday, reminiscing about his first encounters with Johnson. "Jim would always come out and check with me on how I was doing.
"I had very little influence on Jim or the defense at that point, but he took the time to say hello to me and he didn't need to do that. You remember things like that, especially when you're trying to climb the ladder, and that made a difference for me.
"It meant something."
So, as the Eagles move forward during a difficult time, McDermott doesn't shy away from Johnson's legacy; he embraces it. He plans to make full use of the knowledge he has gained from working under Johnson for the past eight seasons.
"It will make it easier for me," McDermott said of knowing that Johnson's presence will remain. "If I'm stuck on making a decision in terms of what's in the best interest of this team and this defense, Jim will help sway me in one way or the other.
"Any time you spend 10 or 11 years around someone and his office at the complex is right next to mine, the influence is just direct, but it's indirect in some ways.
"There's no doubt that if I'm 50-50 on something going forward in the future, there will be the little voice in my ear telling me, and it may sway me.
"If I look back and say, 'How would Jim have done it?' to help me break that tie, so to speak, it will make things easier for me."
I honestly can't think of a more difficult circumstance for McDermott to hold his first training-camp press conference than yesterday morning at Lehigh University.
It was just last Friday that the 35-year-old graduate of La Salle High School and William & Mary College officially was named as Johnson's successor.
With veterans not having reported until last evening, McDermott hadn't even had his first full meeting with his defense when he suddenly had to address the implications of Johnson's death.
I'm not sure how anyone could have done a better job than McDermott did of balancing the difficult line of honoring his friend and mentor while still displaying a professional confidence that the business side of this loss is in capable hands.
"It's a part of life on one hand, but it's a guy, it's a man, it's a dear friend of mine and huge mentor in my life," McDermott said. "I'll just let you fill in the blanks from there. It's a big loss.
"I don't know if [the mourning process] necessarily started early because I knew Jim was going to battle right down to the very last moment. That's how it was throughout his career, and that's what he imparted on us.
"You start to begin the mental part of that process, so it doesn't make it easier, but it allows you to form a plan in your mind, at least. Within the job that I'm asked to do right now, from a leadership standpoint, it allows me to go forward and carry through with that plan."
Life doesn't always play fairly nor does it stop. Sometimes, its sense of timing is cruel at best.
All of the Eagles' coaches are going to have to deal with mourning their friend while simultaneously focusing on getting this training camp started and running in a fashion that Johnson would expect of them.
As Johnson's replacement, McDermott was always going to be under the spotlight this season from Day 1. Johnson's passing will just add to the intensity.
"Well, it's an honor," McDermott said of being Johnson's successor. "It's an honor to follow Jim Johnson in any way, shape or form. I take this role, I take this seat seriously, just out of respect for the people who have come before me.
"I mentioned to Jim's family last night that we'll try and honor Jim and the Johnson family with the way we operate this year, how we play on the field and how we approach our job."
Again, I can't think of a more difficult set of circumstances for a young coordinator to have to begin his career. But again, if you respect Jim Johnson and you look at the string of NFL coaches and coordinators who have branched out from his tree, then you understand that McDermott may have been prepared to deal with these circumstances better than other young coordinators.
So really, there's no reason for McDermott to fear Johnson's presence, watching over his shoulder. In fact, McDermott might be a bit more unsettled if he didn't feel it.
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