By the time Jim Washburn’s not-quite-two-year tenure as the Eagles’ defensive line coach ended in 2012, the words “wide” and “nine” were among the most reviled in the Philadelphia sports vocabulary.
Washburn was given a lot of blame that year for the Birds’ eight-game losing streak, during which his unit gave up an average of almost 30 points. To this day, any time you say “wide nine defense” in this town, you risk causing shudders. (Just ask current Birds defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who has a similar playbook.)
If you’re among those fans who haven’t forgotten about Washburn, well, you might like to know that Washburn hasn’t forgotten about you, either.