NEW ORLEANS – Twenty-five years after being on the sideline of Super Bowl XXXIV, former Titans assistant Jim Washburn was back at the Super Bowl here on Sunday.
This time, Washburn was in the stands, rooting on his son.
Jeremiah Washburn serves as Defensive Ends/Outside Linebackers coach for Philadelphia Eagles, who beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome.
After the game, they celebrated on the field together.
"You know, we're 0-2 in Super Bowls, and since Andy Reid fired me one time, I'm going to count that was 0-3," Jim Washburn said with a smile from his seat in Section 137 at the Superdome before kickoff, referring to Tennessee's loss to the Rams, and a prior Super Bowl trip by his son. "We just need to win today.
"But it's special. I'm so happy to be here, and I'm so proud of Jeremiah. I'm just glad the good Lord let me be here and be a part of this."
The Eagles – and the Washburns – had a big day on Sunday, as Philadelphia dominated the contest with a relentless pass rush en route to a 40-22 win.
Jeremiah was allowed to invite two people on the field to join him on the field post-game.
One of them was his dad, a long-time NFL assistant who developed some great players in Tennessee.
"It was special," Jeremiah Washburn said of the meeting with his father after the game. "It was kind of righting some wrongs on that. … He was emotional, and happy."
Back at Super Bowl XXXIV, Jeremiah Washburn was in the stands when the Titans lost to the St. Louis Rams. He was at the University of Arkansas at the time, and Jim Washburn was in his first as defensive line coach with the Titans, where he'd coach from 1999-2010 under head coach Jeff Fisher.
Jevon Kearse was just a heartbeat away from getting to Rams quarterback Kurt Warner before his game-winning touchdown pass late. Kevin Dyson was a yard away from potentially sending the game into overtime.
Washburn, now 75, recalled that moment as he sat alongside his wife, Sandy.
"Jevon beat (Rams tackle) Fred Miller around the corner, and he hit Kurt Warner's upper arm, and he underthrew (Isaac Bruce)," Washburn said. "It could have been a sack strip, but it ended up as a touchdown. Everybody goes back to Kevin Dyson (getting tackled at the one-yard line), but we could've won it on that. It's a game of inches."
Jim Washburn also made the trip to Super Bowl LVII in Phoenix two years ago, when the Eagles lost to the Chiefs.
The young Washburn is in his sixth season with the Eagles, his third as defensive ends/outside linebackers coach.
The nerves watching the Super Bowl are a little more when watching as a dad, Jim Washburn said.
"It's hard," Washburn said. "You watch the Super Bowl and eat chips and guacamole. I get anxious. … I zero in on his players. I have a pill in my pocket I can take if I get real anxious; I might have to pop that baby."
Jim Washburn coached defensive linemen Jevon Kearse, Josh Evans, Kenny Holmes and Jason Fisk, John Thornton, Joe Salave'a, Mike Jones, Henry Ford and Mike Frederick on that Super Bowl team for the Titans.
The memories of that game will never go away, he said.
"It's shocking (that it was 25 years ago)," Washburn said. "I took a picture with Tina Turner the night before, and that was one of the highlights since we lost. It was great being here, but if you lose it haunts you.
"Hopefully this game today turns out better for the Washburns."
It did.
