The Eagles had their normal morning defensive meeting to install new defenses to work on but Sean McDermott was running it rather than Jim Johnson.
The young players said he let them know that nothing with change with him in charge as Johnson takes a leave of absence while battling cancer.
It's not primetime yet for Eagles interim defensive coordinator McDermott but he got a taste of what it would be like to run the Birds defense.
Most of the key players on the football team didn't participate in the workout but it was a workout nonetheless with the team's rookies and younger players.
McDermott and head coach Andy Reid will be challenged if Jim Johnson doesn't return by the time the season starts.
We'll find out how much confidence Reid and the team's defensive players really have in McDermott. Reid has had consistency in his coaching staff and that's one of the reasons the team has been able to stay amongst the top teams in the league.
Johnson and the team's defense has been an anchor for Reid and the football team for over a decade.
McDermott, who has been with Johnson for 11 years, knows the off season system and he shouldn't have in trouble leading the preparation for the season, but when the season starts that's when the challenges will appear.
I think he's ready to be a defensive coordinator and quite a few people around the league believe so as well. Afterall, McDermott was considered for defensive coordinator jobs in Geen Bay, New Orleans and Denver.
The fact that Johnson has spawned St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo, plus a number of the league's outstanding defensive coordinators Minnesota's Leslie Frazier and San Diego's Ron Rivera, gives everybody confidence that McDermott will do a good job.
He has coached the team's linebackers and the secondary, so leading the defensive linemen will be somewhat of a change for him. He knows this defense like the back of his hand.
There'll be times when opposing offenses get things going and start moving the ball up and down the field on the Birds. Will Reid pull McDermott to the side and tell him what to do or will treat the young coach the way he did Johnson, by staying out of it?
Will the players believe in McDermott after losses when the defense doesn't play well? Will they believe in him when the defense is going through a tough stretch?
It's easy to be other there now with the players in the shorts because McDermott knows the system and he'll be fine until he's got to make some tough decisions.
He's got some good talent on the defense and their offense should be able to put quite a few points on the board, so this isn't a bad situation for McDermott. Coaching in Johnson's shadow will be the toughest thing he'll have to deal with until the games start.
