The hiring was called a risk. Reid was the first position coach in 10 years to go straight to a head coaching job. He had scant credentials. Few realized that Reid had been preparing for that interview for nearly 16 years. He made the most of working under some of football's most successful football men — especially Edwards, Holmgren and Packer general manager Ron Wolf — while also working alongside the likes of Jon Gruden, Steve Mariucci and Marty Mornhinweg, among others. Reid picked their brains, studied their programs and made detailed notes, which he kept in a three-ring binder.

"It was a 'What-I'm-going-to-do-when-I'm-a-head-coach' book," says Lewis.

Reid noted practice schedules, Super Bowl itineraries, bye-week schedules, draft philosophies and so forth. Wolf became a mentor.

"He basically tutored Andy," says Lewis. "You can tell what coaches have it."

As soon as he got the Eagle job, Reid began implementing the plan he had been assembling for years. It dealt with the smallest details right down to requiring players to tuck in their jerseys in practice, organized practices, travel and pre-game meals.

"He's on top of everything," says Lewis.

While riding in a car with Eagle defensive coordinator Jim Johnson recently, Lewis asked him what makes Reid a successful coach.

Johnson said, "He's so organized. He lets coaches know months in advance what they're going to do and doesn't vary. And he gives them plenty of time with their families. That eliminates so many problems, knowing what you're going to be doing, instead of doing crisis management. Also, he lets his coaches coach."

The Edwards factor

Sound familiar? Reid is, in many ways, much like Edwards and freely says so. He patterned much of what he does after his former college coach, the man who pointed him toward the coaching profession.

Like Edwards, he makes sure his players and coaches have plenty of time to be their families. Like Edwards, he delegates responsibility to his assistants and lets them do their jobs. (However, Reid is a little more hands-on, wanting to know what his assistants are doing at all times. He has been called a control freak, but Reid says, "I'm more like a mother hen.")

Like Edwards, Reid is unflappable and even-tempered. He doesn't get too high or too low with winning and losing. Like Edwards, he shows no emotion on the sideline and rarely smiles. He's happy but, as Edwards once said of himself, he forgot to tell his face. Like Edwards, he is also an insomniac. Like Edwards, he deals with the media and the public with wit and humor, but doesn't really volunteer much information. He's never going to say the wrong thing.