Great Mind Gone
-
- July
- 28
The day just got a little lousier in my opinion. Jim Johnson, the great Eagles defensive coordinator
whose attacking philosophy was brought north by former Giants DC Steve Spagnuolo, died at age 68 this afternoon of cancer.
Always loved listening to him at playoff time. Classy guy, too. He’ll be missed.
UPDATE: Here’s a few thoughts from Tom Coughlin, released in a statement through the Giants’ PR department. Seems I’m not the only guy who thought Johnson was a first-class human.
“It is a sad, very sad, day,” Coughlin said. “I talked recently to (Eagles video director) Mike Dougherty and asked him to let Jim know that I was thinking about him, and I had dropped Jim a note to let him know as well. Forget about what kind of coach he was…he was an excellent, excellent defensive coach, and he trained others to be the same. We know what Steve Spagnuolo meant to us. We had great respect for Jim, and he had great respect for us. I didn’t know Jim personally, but we would always talk to each other, mostly about the NFC East and what a great, competitive division it is. It was a respectful critique about what great players, coaches and organizations there are within the division. In talking with people who worked with Jim, you sense what a class act Jim was. He was great to work with and for, and he had his priorities in order. His players loved to play for him and his coaches loved to coach with him. It is a sad day for the National Football League to lose somebody the quality of Jim Johnson. It is a sad note on which to start the season. He coached right up to the very end.”
EP
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at 5:56 pm by Ernie Palladino. 
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Ernie Palladino
Jim Johnson, May God rest your soul in peace.