Eagles defense misses Johnson's guidance

It was self-evident that the Eagles would miss Jim Johnson when the innovative defensive coach died in 2009. The intervening years have made it clear just how important Johnson really was to Andy Reid's team.

On the night the Eagles are to add Johnson to their Honor Roll, they have a 2-4 record largely because of a defense that has blown three fourth-quarter leads, has failed repeatedly in the fundamental tasks of tackling and covering receivers, and has been a mere speed bump in the red zone. Johnson will be honored at a time when his absence is as keenly felt as ever.

Reid hired Johnson for the zone blitz schemes that had so enervated the Packers. He got much more: stability and an authoritative voice. Johnson had seen pretty much everything during his previous three decades in coaching. He understood where the game had been and where trends were taking it, and he was a seemingly bottomless well of ideas on staying ahead of the curve.

From 2000 to 2007, Johnson fielded defenses that were fourth in fewest points allowed (17.6 per game). As far as Johnson was concerned, points were the only stat that really mattered.

"I'm looking at disrupting the offense," Johnson said. "If it's third down and we can disrupt the play and force a bad throw or an incompletion, I'm satisfied. It's all about getting off the field and giving the offense the ball."

He fielded a championship-caliber defense that allowed Reid time to develop his offense. And the Eagles soon were fixtures in the NFC championship game.

The irony of Johnson's career was that he routinely thwarted the younger offensive coaches who seemed to get all the head-coaching opportunities. But he never became a head coach in the NFL.

When we talked about that a decade ago, he cited other factors, such as the drift toward offensive coaches. But he knew that his age - he was in his early 60s by then - had a lot to do with it.

"I don't think I'm old until I look in the mirror," Johnson said in 2002.

The opportunities went instead to younger Reid assistants. While Reid has rightfully been credited for his fruitful coaching tree, it is also true that many of his former assistants - John Harbaugh, Steve Spagnuolo, Ron Rivera, and Leslie Frazier - apprenticed under Johnson.

Ultimately, that bias allowed the Eagles to hang on to Johnson. They made him one of the best-paid assistants in the league, and he turned out defenses that gave the team a chance to win every week.

In 2008, after a brief step backward, the Eagles returned to the top five in points (fourth) and yards (third) allowed. They went to the NFC championship game for the last time after that season. When their playoff run ended, it was revealed that Johnson was fighting cancer that had metastasized to his spine.

Six months later, he was gone.

The Eagles dropped back to the middle of the defensive pack in 2009 and 2010 under Sean McDermott. When Reid announced his surprising decision to make offensive line coach Juan Castillo his new defensive coordinator, his best rationale was that Castillo had the ear, and the respect, of Jim Johnson.

So far, that has not translated into success on the field.

More irony: Pat Shurmur left the Eagles to become head coach in Cleveland this year. He emulated his mentor by hiring a veteran coordinator to run his defense. Under Dick Jauron, the Browns are ranked first in the league against the pass and fourth in total yards allowed.

They are fifth in points allowed. The Eagles are 21st.

Jauron was on the Eagles staff last year. Reid didn't consider him for the coordinator position.

Once upon a time, the younger Reid looked for an older, more established coach to run his defense. He found Johnson, who was considering retirement. Reid was rewarded with a decade of never having to worry about his defense.

It was in the best possible hands. No one appreciated that more than Reid.

"I always said that I thought he was the best in the business at what he did," Reid said.

Reid knew how good Johnson was. Chances are, like the rest of us, he appreciates the sage old coach even more today. There is no better choice to be the first assistant coach on the team's Honor Roll. It would be even better if the Pro Football Hall of Fame began recognizing the great assistants. Johnson deserves consideration there, too.

He was one of a kind, as the Eagles have learned the hard way.