Jim Johnson, the former defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles, died today at the age of 68, according to reports. He'd been fighting cancer for a few months. There is far too much to say about Jim Johnson. He was a good man as well as a fantastic football coach. Here are some highlights: He had a reputation for being one of the meanest coaches in the NFL during his days with the Washington Redskins. But he also had a reputation for having players' backs. After Mike Shanahan left to become the Denver Broncos' head coach, he hired Johnson away from Washington to be his offensive coordinator. When he was fired by the Broncos after one season, they went with their own guy instead - Joe Thomas - but it wasn't because of anything Johnson did or didn't do. It was purely based on who their new coach was going to be. Same thing that happened with Andy Reid in Kansas City and then with Chip Kelly in Philadelphia. Whoever the boss is, that's who gets promoted. Never mind what anyone else thinks. He started out as a line coach for the Chicago Bears, then became an assistant coach for the University of Colorado before joining the Redskins as a defensive coordinator in 1998. During his time there, the team won two Super Bowls - one in 1999 and another in 2007 - both times beating John Elway's Denver Broncos. They also made the playoffs nine out of ten years he was there.