It was February 2009 when Eagles fans watched as Brian Dawkins, the legendary safety dubbed Weapon X, departed from the only team he ever knew in Philadelphia to sign with the Denver Broncos.
Since that day, it has been about finding the closest thing to Dawkins at the safety position. There was no replacement.
Dawkins returns to the Eagles, however, in a new role that may help find the closest thing. Dawkins has joined the Eagles scouting department, the team announced Saturday.
Dawkins had a stellar career with the Eagles, playing 13 seasons in Philadelphia. He totaled 895 tackles, 26 sacks, forced 36 fumbles, recovered 19 fumbles and had 37 interceptions, two returned for touchdowns. After three seasons with the Broncos, Dawkins signed a one-day contract with the Eagles in 2012 to retire as an Eagle. The nine-time Pro Bowler has his No. 20 retired by the Eagles on Sept. 30, 2012.
Dawkins joins the scouting department as the first recipient of the Nunn-Wooten Scouting Fellowship, a new program the NFL has launched to help assist former players in joining player personnel departments in a scouting capacity. Dawkins will work closely with the Eagles scouting and football operations departments to get an understanding of their work.
Following his retirement, Dawkins had spent time as an analyst for ESPN.
Kevin Durso is an editor for Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
