The Jim Johnson Coaching Tree

[Aerolithe_Lion]

A lot is made of Doug under Andy’s coaching tree with Childress, and now Nagy + Bienemy, but a lot of the most successful guys in that tree were specifically part of the Jim Johnson Coaching tree:

Steve Spagnuolo: Jim’s protegé, grabbed by the Giants before Jim’s stint here was complete. Won a ring as DC in NY, got the head coaching job in StL, then came back as DC in NY and was there the last time they made the playoffs. Now he’s 2 time AFC champion D coordinator and won a ring his first year in KC.

Sean McDermott: He was the JJ protégé after Spags, was given a shot here but unceremoniously dumped for Juan Castillo. He then went on to help Carolina to the super bowl as their DC, and now he’s led Buffalo to back to back playoff stints and 3 playoffs in 4 years for the first time since forever, as well as the AFCCG as head coach.

Ron Rivera: Just won a division championship with 2 different teams as head coach, also led Sean’s Panthers to the Super Bowl and has won 2 AP coach of the year trophies.

John Harbaugh: Many here know he was our Special Teams coach, but less may remember Baltimore actually hired him off Jim’s defensive staff to be their HC. Since then he’s won a Super Bowl, made 3 AFCCGs, and already has more playoff wins (11) than Andy had his entire Philadelphia tenure.

 

 

 

While Doug did win a ring here, Andy’s coaching tree begins to pale in comparison to Jim’s. As much as the media likes to say these guys are Andy guys... he’s never run that defensive war room. That was Jim

[Bwestbrook36]

10 minutes ago, Aerolithe_Lion said:

A lot is made of Doug under Andy’s coaching tree with Childress, and now Nagy + Bienemy, but a lot of the most successful guys in that tree were specifically part of the Jim Johnson Coaching tree (a coach who preceded Andy in Philadelphia, he has no ties to Holmgren or Walsh):

Steve Spagnuolo: Jim’s protegé, grabbed by the Giants before Jim’s stint here was complete. Won a ring as DC in NY, got the head coaching job in StL, then came back as DC in NY and was there the last time they made the playoffs. Now he’s 2 time AFC champion D coordinator and won a ring his first year in KC.

Sean McDermott: He was the JJ protégé after Spags, was given a shot here but unceremoniously dumped for Juan Castillo. He then went on to help Carolina to the super bowl as their DC, and now he’s led Buffalo to back to back playoff stints and 3 playoffs in 4 years for the first time since forever, as well as the AFCCG as head coach.

Ron Rivera: Just won a division championship with 2 different teams as head coach, also led Sean’s Panthers to the Super Bowl and has won 2 AP coach of the year trophies.

John Harbaugh: Many here know he was our Special Teams coach, but less may remember Baltimore actually hired him off Jim’s defensive staff to be their HC. Since then he’s won a Super Bowl, made 3 AFCCGs, and already has more playoff wins (11) than Andy had his entire Philadelphia tenure.

 

 

 

While Doug did win a ring here, Andy’s coaching tree begins to pale in comparison to Jim’s. Jim was not an Andy guy, he was here before him, and as much as the media likes to say these guys are Andy guys... he’s never run that defensive war room. That was Jim

Andy Reid hired Jim. 

[EagleJoe8]

2 hours ago, Bwestbrook36 said:

Andy Reid hired Jim. 

Yeah, I wasn’t sure where that came from. 

[20dawk4life]

Its still impressive the amount of success coaches have had once they went out on their own. I wonder what the most amount of future head coaches on one team is. 

[Bwestbrook36]

3 hours ago, 20dawk4life said:

Its still impressive the amount of success coaches have had once they went out on their own. I wonder what the most amount of future head coaches on one team is. 

I dug around with mostly dynasties in the last 40 years and the most I could find was 4 on any team. The bill walsh tree going into holmgren is still huge. 

[Traveler Vic]

My dog wants to take a leek under a tree...but he is confused... are we under Reich tree? Or DP tree? or Andy tree?...Any tree would do of course..just as long as someone classifies it , categorizes it, and brands it. I am not that particular, as I am only focused on  the upcoming draft after coaches positions are filled.

[Aerolithe_Lion]

10 hours ago, Bwestbrook36 said:

Andy Reid hired Jim. 

That’s so odd, I could have sworn he was retained from the previous regime

[pallidrone]

55 minutes ago, Aerolithe_Lion said:

That’s so odd, I could have sworn he was retained from the previous regime

He was the LB coach for Indy (with a short stint as the Seahawks LB coach) and Andy said that if he ever got hired as a HC he was going to bring JJ in as his defensive coordinator as he respected him that much.

[JohnB]

Jim Johnson was a great DC and created a legacy. On another note, my favorite DC in Eagles history was Bud Carson. that guy was a beast

[manz2821]

10 hours ago, Aerolithe_Lion said:

That’s so odd, I could have sworn he was retained from the previous regime

Nope. I remember Andy in an interview many years back had said that he had seen Jim's defence in action and told himself that if he ever got a hc gig Jim would be his first hire as a DC and Andy was true to his word. 

[matchew88]

I've always said McDermott was a scapegoat

[Penn7980]

22 hours ago, Aerolithe_Lion said:

A lot is made of Doug under Andy’s coaching tree with Childress, and now Nagy + Bienemy, but a lot of the most successful guys in that tree were specifically part of the Jim Johnson Coaching tree:

Steve Spagnuolo: Jim’s protegé, grabbed by the Giants before Jim’s stint here was complete. Won a ring as DC in NY, got the head coaching job in StL, then came back as DC in NY and was there the last time they made the playoffs. Now he’s 2 time AFC champion D coordinator and won a ring his first year in KC.

Sean McDermott: He was the JJ protégé after Spags, was given a shot here but unceremoniously dumped for Juan Castillo. He then went on to help Carolina to the super bowl as their DC, and now he’s led Buffalo to back to back playoff stints and 3 playoffs in 4 years for the first time since forever, as well as the AFCCG as head coach.

Ron Rivera: Just won a division championship with 2 different teams as head coach, also led Sean’s Panthers to the Super Bowl and has won 2 AP coach of the year trophies.

John Harbaugh: Many here know he was our Special Teams coach, but less may remember Baltimore actually hired him off Jim’s defensive staff to be their HC. Since then he’s won a Super Bowl, made 3 AFCCGs, and already has more playoff wins (11) than Andy had his entire Philadelphia tenure.

 

 

 

While Doug did win a ring here, Andy’s coaching tree begins to pale in comparison to Jim’s. As much as the media likes to say these guys are Andy guys... he’s never run that defensive war room. That was Jim

While these were defensive coaches under JJ, but they were also in AR's staff.  Should they also be on AR's tree as well?

Glad that McDermott is doing well with the Bills.  Was rooting for that team when they played the Chiefs, but Mahomms and their offense were too much for them.

 

[EricAllenPick6]

Yeah, Andy just has a knack for finding good assistants and a lot of his hires go on to have good careers elsewhere.  I'm sure Jim Johnson had a hand in that, too, but Andy has a tremendous track record here.  

Shame that Jim Johnson never got to be a HC, I think he would have been a very good one, too.

 

[Madriver]

5 hours ago, manz2821 said:

Nope. I remember Andy in an interview many years back had said that he had seen Jim's defence in action and told himself that if he ever got a hc gig Jim would be his first hire as a DC and Andy was true to his word. 

Thing is, I recall Jim saying he never wanted to be HC, as he was happy being just a DC.

So even if he had never been here, I believe he would've spawned a great tree of his own no matter where he went. To say he has his own tree is perfectly legit IMO.

[LacesOut]

Dang the Iggles have had some really really good Coaches.

I am still surprised at the success of John Harbaugh.

[Utebird]

On 1/26/2021 at 11:51 AM, Aerolithe_Lion said:

A lot is made of Doug under Andy’s coaching tree with Childress, and now Nagy + Bienemy, but a lot of the most successful guys in that tree were specifically part of the Jim Johnson Coaching tree:

Steve Spagnuolo: Jim’s protegé, grabbed by the Giants before Jim’s stint here was complete. Won a ring as DC in NY, got the head coaching job in StL, then came back as DC in NY and was there the last time they made the playoffs. Now he’s 2 time AFC champion D coordinator and won a ring his first year in KC.

Sean McDermott: He was the JJ protégé after Spags, was given a shot here but unceremoniously dumped for Juan Castillo. He then went on to help Carolina to the super bowl as their DC, and now he’s led Buffalo to back to back playoff stints and 3 playoffs in 4 years for the first time since forever, as well as the AFCCG as head coach.

Ron Rivera: Just won a division championship with 2 different teams as head coach, also led Sean’s Panthers to the Super Bowl and has won 2 AP coach of the year trophies.

John Harbaugh: Many here know he was our Special Teams coach, but less may remember Baltimore actually hired him off Jim’s defensive staff to be their HC. Since then he’s won a Super Bowl, made 3 AFCCGs, and already has more playoff wins (11) than Andy had his entire Philadelphia tenure.

 

 

 

While Doug did win a ring here, Andy’s coaching tree begins to pale in comparison to Jim’s. As much as the media likes to say these guys are Andy guys... he’s never run that defensive war room. That was Jim

To be fair Jim Johnson was Andy's guy so...

[JohnB]

23 hours ago, matchew88 said:

I've always said McDermott was a scapegoat

yes and no. first off, I don't think AR really thinks that way. "Who's my sacrificial lamb going to be this year?" 

Additionally, he wasn't a very good coach at the time. He was young, and while definitely upcoming, maybe he just didn't have the respect of the players. If anything I would say his time spent in Carolina with Rivera was imperative to his success

[FitzIsAtTheAirport]

Spag’s defense was 32nd in the red zone.  They’re winning in spite of him, not because of him.

[Bwestbrook36]

3 hours ago, JohnB said:

yes and no. first off, I don't think AR really thinks that way. "Who's my sacrificial lamb going to be this year?" 

Additionally, he wasn't a very good coach at the time. He was young, and while definitely upcoming, maybe he just didn't have the respect of the players. If anything I would say his time spent in Carolina with Rivera was imperative to his success

The talent wasn't all that great either, don't forget dawkins was gone the corner situation was horrible as was the linebackers and Graham was young and considered to be a bust already because of lack of production and injuries. Plus coming in as a rookie defensive coordinator fresh off of losing Jim. 

[matchew88]

8 hours ago, JohnB said:

yes and no. first off, I don't think AR really thinks that way. "Who's my sacrificial lamb going to be this year?" 

Additionally, he wasn't a very good coach at the time. He was young, and while definitely upcoming, maybe he just didn't have the respect of the players. If anything I would say his time spent in Carolina with Rivera was imperative to his success

He did fine with what he was given. He could have grown into the role. Andy's downfall in PHI was not looking outside his network, and ran out of ready-now guys. 

[EazyEaglez]

On 1/26/2021 at 1:02 PM, Bwestbrook36 said:

Andy Reid hired Jim. 

Exactly. These are still Reid guys. In fact Reid promoted Harbaugh to secondary coach so he could one day have a chance to be a head coach. Yeah they’re all defensive guys, but they’re still under the Reid tree IMO. 

[Bwestbrook36]

1 minute ago, EazyEaglez said:

Exactly. These are still Reid guys. In fact Reid promoted Harbaugh to secondary coach so he could one day have a chance to be a head coach. Yeah they’re all defensive guys, but they’re still under the Reid tree IMO. 

Agreed, I think you don't see any on the offensive side from Reid's eagles days is because he hired guys that were already head coaches and or position coaches that were hired from other teams that didn't come up through the ranks. 

[VaBeach_Eagle]

Generally speaking, only head coaches have a 'tree'. I don't think I've ever heard of a coordinator being credited with a 'tree'. 

[EazyEaglez]

3 minutes ago, Bwestbrook36 said:

Agreed, I think you don't see any on the offensive side from Reid's eagles days is because he hired guys that were already head coaches and or position coaches that were hired from other teams that didn't come up through the ranks. 

Overall Reid’s coaching tree is a lot better than Belicheat’s is. The man is a good coach and taught a lot of people how to be good ones too. Of course they’re all kind of from the Bill Walsh tree anyways. 

[Bwestbrook36]

1 minute ago, EazyEaglez said:

Overall Reid’s coaching tree is a lot better than Belicheat’s is. The man is a good coach and taught a lot of people how to be good ones too. Of course they’re all kind of from the Bill Walsh tree anyways. 

Yes the Walsh tree is still insanely huge in the league today. Strangely it's mostly been only defense that were promoted to head coach for Belichick too. McDaniels I think is the only offensive guy to go to head coach