Eagles camp report: Fittingly, pressure's on Johnson's successor

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BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- I was talking to an AFC coach this summer when he switched the subject to the Philadelphia Eagles, the hardships they've been through and the difficult position their new defensive coordinator, Sean McDermott, now finds himself in.

"I just hope he doesn't put a lot of pressure on his shoulders," he said of McDermott, "but I don't know how he can't. That's a tough spot he's in."

Tough? How about damn near impossible.

McDermott is in his first season as a coordinator, which would be a challenge anywhere. Except he's not doing it just anywhere. He's doing it in Philadelphia where, as one assistant said, the Eagles aren't dissected season-to-season or game-to-game but play-to-play. What's more, he's doing it as the successor to his mentor the past decade, the late Jim Johnson.

I don't need to remind you how important Johnson was to this franchise and its players. He was one of the game's best and brightest assistants, and I'm not talking about the past 10 years; I mean ever. Every season his defenses were among the league leaders in sacks, takeaways, yards allowed, you name it. Those defenses defined the team's personality.

They were relentless. They were aggressive. They were physical. Most of all, they were successful.

Well, Johnson is gone, and it is the 35-year-old McDermott who takes his place front and center with the Eagles' D. It is a job he has been trained for, with McDermott coaching every position on the Eagles' defense except the line, and it is a job Johnson might have handed off to him one day.

Only that day is now. McDermott's on-the-job training ended this summer shortly before Johnson died, and now the on-the-job pressure cooker begins. The question, of course, is how McDermott deals with it and how, as that AFC assistant said, he keeps from succumbing to the occupational hazards of following Johnson.

"I don't focus on that," McDermott said. "I focus on being myself and doing the best job that I can do, and then let the chips fall where they may.

"That's all I can do. Nobody can ever replace Jim Johnson, I don't care who you are. It's important that I just be myself. That's been good enough over the years, and I hope that will be good enough going forward."

So do the Eagles who, frankly, have one of the best clubs in the NFC this season. I don't know if they win their division, but they make the playoffs. That's nothing new. They have reached the NFC Championship Game five of the past eight years, and it's conceivable they could make it six out of nine this season.

But a lot depends on McDermott and his defense. Two of the team's three leading tacklers from last year are gone. Safety Brian Dawkins moved on to Denver and linebacker Stewart Bradley is out for the season after tearing knee ligaments in practice. That means the Eagles probably rely on safety Quintin Demps, who floundered in last year's conference championship game loss to Arizona, and untested middle linebacker Joe Mays.

Both have looked good in workouts, and both are expected to wind up starters. But it's not Demps and Mays who determine what happens to this defense, it's McDermott.

"You mean Jim Johnson Jr.," said Mays.

Maybe. I'm waiting on a verdict, but I'll say this about the guy: He sure looks and acts like someone ready for the next step. He is not bothered by the inevitable comparisons to his predecessor. He understands what's ahead of him and he welcomes the challenge -– all of which is why coach Andy Reid didn't hesitate to name him Johnson's successor.

"He's the right guy to handle that pressure," said Reid. "With some guys I worry about it; that it might be too big. But not Sean. He's such a student of the game, and he's a relentless worker who's very intelligent.

"He's a William & Mary grad, and a former state wrestling champ [he was 61-0 his junior and senior years]. So you know he has a little intestinal fortitude. He has knowledge of the defense, plus the confidence of the players -- and that's key.

"I think he'll step up to that challenge. It obviously isn't an easy thing at all, but I think he's wired right to handle it."

So do his players, most of whom have experience with McDermott. They know there will be no appreciable changes to the defense -– Jim Johnson's defense -- and why should there be? As defensive end Trent Cole said, "If it ain't broke, why fix it?" McDermott will not. He will attack the pocket. He will bring heat from all parts of the field. And he will apply pressure on the offense.

Of course, he will add a few wrinkles here and there, but that's expected from any new coordinator. However, the basic philosophy -- Jim Johnson's philosophy -- remains unchanged.

"You have to stay aggressive on defense, and you have to put pressure on the quarterback," said McDermott. "There are a lot of different ways to do that, but staying aggressive and attacking on defense will serve you well."

In one game last season the Eagles had nine sacks. That was against Pittsburgh. In another, they had eight. In four of their final eight regular-season games, they forced three or more fumbles -- including four in the season-ending rout of Dallas. Only twice during the regular season did opposing quarterbacks complete more than 56.7 percent of their passes, and four times they were under 50. I think you get the idea. They never stopped squeezing opposing offenses.

"The bottom line," said McDermott, "is that if you want to win in this game on defense you must know how to get off a block, tackle and make a play on the football. So I want our guys to know fundamental football. And then if we add wrinkles, we'll add wrinkles, and we'll grow the defense.

"That's one thing I learned from Jim. Every offseason he would always have a new wrinkle, and I have plenty to bring to the table. But we have to be a fundamentally sound football team first. And then, at the right time, we'll grow the defense and the defense will evolve."

In the meantime, the Eagles carry on without Johnson, but with his initials on their helmets and his memory in their heads. He is, as McDermott said, everywhere -- and he would know. His office was next door to Johnson's, so close that he could hear Johnson "baby talk" to his grandchildren, and the two regularly conferred.

Now, he concedes there isn't a day that passes where he doesn't think about Johnson and that he still hears his voice -- often when McDermott is on the field coaching the defense Johnson devised. McDermott listens, just as he always listened when Johnson spoke. But this is his defense now and these are his players.

And the pressure that goes along with it ... well, that is his, too.

"I'm hoping my second call is better than my first," said McDermott, "and my third is better than my second. And that's part of the progress. I prepared myself for the opportunity, and I'm working to be the best, whatever that means. If pressure comes with that, that's OK. That's all part of the territory."