Johnson, who became the team's defensive coordinator when Andy Reid was hired in 1999, will not be forgotten. Not by Reese, the fans or the Eagles, who move forward today when all remaining veterans report to training camp.
"I guess there are a couple lessons you can learn," Reid said. "Time moves on, and it's a crazy thing. Life's a crazy thing. We all need to live each day to the fullest, and I think we all learned that from him. If we didn't know it before, we learned it from him. But we all would love to have him here and coaching."
Sean McDermott inherited control of the defense last training camp, 4 days before Johnson's death.
"Last year was a unique situation," McDermott said Tuesday. "It was a different set of circumstances. Now we've introduced some normalcy, if you will, into the equation, and it gave us an opportunity as a staff to get together since February and plan just like a normal staff would plan and handle the offseason since February."
The challenge is different this year, with McDermott having to nurture a young defense - one that's counting on second-round draft pick Nate Allen to start at free safety.
Reese, now a radio talk-show host, was asked how Johnson would have handled such a green defensive unit. Johnson's first defense in 1999 featured veterans Brian Dawkins, Jeremiah Trotter, Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor, and he really didn't have to worry much about fundamentals.
McDermott opened camp preaching them because of poor tackling last season.
