Jim Johnson has passed away

According to Brian Seltzer of ESPN950 and multiple other sources, former Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson has passed away. Johnson had taken a turn for the worse in the last few days and he finally lost his battle with cancer today. Johnson was 68 years old.

Another sad day in Philadelphia sports history. We've lost yet another great man. Our prayers and condolences go out to his family.

PhiladelphiaEagles.com has a nice statement up about Johnson.

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".

Sean McDermott is the new Eagles Defensive Coordinator

This move is hardly shocking, but that doesn't make it any less depressing. The Eagles have announced that Sean McDermott will be their new Defensive Coordinator, replacing Jim Johnson, who is currently battling cancer. While McDermott has worked under Johnson since 2001 and the Eagles defense shouldn't change much, it's still a tough loss for the Eagles to be losing one of the best coordinators in the game. When he gets healthy, Johnson will likely always have a job with the Eagles, but since he is 68 years old, there is no guarantee he will be back on the sidelines ever again.

While we are sad to see Johnson step down, McDermott is the perfect replacement. He has coached the Eagles secondary and linebackers off and on for nearly a decade and knows all about the Eagles attacking defense. I wouldn't expect any drop off at all in the play of the defense.

More importantly, I wish Jim Johnson well. Get healthy soon and get back to drawing up some crazy blitzes.

Eagles D Coordinator Jim Johnson has cancer

We all guessed something was up when Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson was forced to coach from the press box during the playoffs. Few guessed that he would have this serious of a health problem.

News came out today that Johnson, who is 67, has cancer in his spine. He will undergo several weeks of treatment to hopefully thwart the spread of cancer. The good news, if you could call it that, is that Johnson underwent surgery in 2001 to rid himself of cancer and it worked, at least for 7 years.

Johnson said that he wants to continue coaching for the Eagles, if health allows. Right now, football should be furthest from his mind as priority number one has to be getting himself healthy. If he is able to return to the Eagles, then that's just a bonus. Getting rid of the cancer is much more important.

ATPS wishes Jim Johnson a speedy recovery.