IS BUYING CROSS-COUNTRY SKIS
Enjoyed this story Andy Reid told about Jim Johnson and Lito Sheppard:
"Lito was one of his favorite guys, almost like a son. Lito was a character. So Jim was always trying to push the right button with Lito. And I remember Lito talked to Rick [Burkholder] or one of the guys, and they said, 'Hey, listen. When Jim's on you, and he's chewing on you, just think of the word SWEET. Just think of the word SWEET , you know just blank out all those thoughts.' So somehow Jim got word that Lito was told this word SWEET. And so Lito goes out on the field and he just had a rough play, and Jim starts screaming at him, 'SWEET, SWEET Lito, SWEET!'"
Lito responded by giving Johnson a big thumbs-up.
I'll try to get audio of the story up shortly. Reid really did a good job telling it.
Asked when the last time was that he saw Johnson, Reid said he and Joe Banner visited with him last night.
The last conversation he had with Johnson was two days ago.
Some other notes from Reid's press conference:
** When asked why Johnson never had a head coaching job, Reid said sometimes the stars just line up right, and Johnson cherished the opportunity to win.
** Reid said he never had an argument with Johnson, and he never heard anyone say a negative thing about him.
** Other than football, Reid said Johnson's favorite thing to do was spend time with his family and his grandkids.
** Reid said coaching at last season's Pro Bowl was the first time he felt what it would be like to coach without Johnson. He added that it was strange to have Sean McDermott introduced yesterday to talk about the defense.
** Reid said he and Banner have talked a little about how the team will pay tribute to Johnson, but they did not announce anything specific tonight.
Some of you had great ideas when Harry Kalas died, so feel free to share here how you think the team and the city should pay tribute to Johnson.
