Jim Johnson close to death?

After the joy of 2008, 2009 might turn into the saddest year ever for Philadelphia sports fans. First, the beloved Harry Kalas passed away. Now, it appears that former Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson has taken a turn for the worse in his battle with cancer and is fighting to stay alive.

According to J.P. Sartre of the DelCo Daily Times, Johnson's battle with melanoma is "coming to a sad conclusion". Johnson, who is 68 years old, was recently replaced by Sean McDermott at coordinator after being with the Eagles for 10 years. Let's hope that the best defensive coordinator in the business has one last blitz on cancer left in him.

Brian Seltzer of ESPN950 has also reported that the situation with Johnson is "very grave".