Vikings vs. Philadelphia: Just a phone call away

There is no set day the conversation takes place, but once a week it happens. Sometimes during "Monday Night Football," other times late on Friday, when most at Winter Park have departed.

Brad Childress or Andy Reid will pick up the phone and call the other.

The subject matter ranges from what happened in the NFL to schemes. From personnel issues to personal issues. "We talk about everything," Childress said.

Added Reid: "Our families grew up together, so the kids, we always ask about the kids and then a lot of football."

This past week was different.

With Childress' Vikings getting set to face Reid's Eagles today at the Metrodome, both decided to temporarily suspend communication. Childress referred to this as an "unwritten" rule.

The Vikings coach also could have called it uncharted territory.

After spending seven seasons as an assistant with the Eagles, Childress will oppose his longtime friend and see his former team for the first time since taking the Vikings job in January 2006.

"I'll have some emotions as I walk out there and see that green jersey and all the guys who are going to run up and say hello," said Childress, the Eagles' offensive coordinator for his final four years in Philadelphia. "Not only coaches, but players and doctors. But really it's a football game, and you're going to administer just like any other football game."

Except for one difference. When Childress looks across the field, he will see the man and the team that shaped him as an NFL head coach.

Staying the course

Childress became a hot head-coaching candidate after the Eagles won four NFC East titles, made five playoff appearances, went to four consecutive NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl in seven seasons.

But Childress' first year working with Reid in Philadelphia made the greatest impact. Reid received his first head coaching opportunity in 1999 when he was hired to take over a team coming off a 3-13 season. He, in turn, hired Childress from the University of Wisconsin to serve as his quarterbacks coach and Philadelphia took Syracuse's Donovan McNabb with the second pick in the draft.

The Eagles improved by only two games that season and finished last in the division. The next year, however, Philadelphia went 11-5 and began a run of postseason appearances that ended with a 24-21 loss to New England in Super Bowl XXXIX.

"One of the valuable lessons to understand in the NFL is that the real true success stories are built over time and include developing players and a commitment to certain philosophies that you have a willingness to stick to even when things are tough," Eagles President Joe Banner said. "Taking a quarterback that no matter how good he is going to be ... you knew you wouldn't see it right away. You have to live through the challenges. ... If you're going to get good and stay good, as opposed to kind of being a flash, you have to go through some difficult times and growing pains."

And just as the Eagles were willing to go through those growing pains with McNabb, Childress appears set to follow the same blueprint with the Vikings and Tarvaris Jackson in 2007. The difference is that Reid turned things around in his second year; Childress has followed a 6-10 debut season with another slow start.

"There are some analogies you can make," Childress said. "You certainly have to identify a quarterback, and that was something we were lucky enough and fortunate enough to do [in Philadelphia]. ... So the parallel would be that you're trying to identify the quarterback and then establish your [offensive and defensive] lines, and all the while you're trying to build a culture different and an understanding of how we want to do business both on the field, off the field and in the front office."

Childress brought from the Eagles an emphasis on signing key players to contract extensions before they hit free agency. Punter Chris Kluwe was the latest to benefit from this when he received a six-year extension last week.

The long-term approach might infuriate Vikings fans who want to win now, but it looks familiar to defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier.

"A lot of what Brad is doing here is because of what happened in Philadelphia," said Frazier, a defensive backs coach on Reid's staff from 1999 to 2002. "It's a great blueprint if you can follow it and be patient."

Lasting friendship

Childress and Reid's relationship dates to the mid-1980s. Reid was an assistant on the San Francisco State staff when Childress persuaded him to become the offensive line coach at Northern Arizona. Childress was the team's offensive coordinator; the two worked together for one season (1986) before Reid departed for Texas-El Paso.

They wouldn't be reunited until Childress joined Reid with the Eagles, but they were in close proximity for several years -- Reid was an assistant on Mike Holmgren's Green Bay Packers staff from 1992 to 1998, and Childress worked for Barry Alvarez with the Badgers from 1991 to '98.

Childress, 51, is almost two years older than Reid, so their relationship is on the peer level. Childress had no trouble giving Reid grief when it came to their differences about run-to-pass ratio. Childress is a firm believer in the ground game; Reid loves to throw it.

Reid called most of the offensive plays, so he usually won out, but that didn't stop Childress from speaking his mind. Asked if there were any spirited discussions on the subject during the Eagles' offensive meetings, Childress smiled and said, "Oh yeah, those were bones of contention."

Said Banner: "Everybody has worked for someone where you clearly understand who is in charge and who is the boss. But day-to-day and project-to-project you really feel more like partners even though you respect who has the ultimate authority. They worked as if they were partners."

Childress said he definitely picked up things from observing Reid's coaching style.

"He didn't ride the roller-coaster," Childress said. "That he was a flat-line guy. I probably had a tendency coming in [to Philadelphia] to be more emotional. At Northern Arizona I'd get elevated a little bit. I don't as much anymore because you don't need to. I think people respect the fact that, hey, you're the same."

Neither Childress nor Reid is going to get into too many details of his personal life, but it's clear the families are close. In fact, Reid and his wife, Tammy, have a 17-year-old daughter named Drew Ann; Childress' wife is Dru-Ann. The Childresses have a son named Andrew. Childress, a man with a dry sense of humor, refers to it as a "subliminal coincidence" on both parts.

There is nothing funny about what Reid has gone through with the oldest of his five children -- Garrett, 24, and Britt, 22 -- and it's obvious Childress empathizes. Britt Reid has been jailed for several weeks after violating conditions of his bail that were the result of his arrest last January, when he allegedly pointed a gun at a driver during a road rage incident. Garrett Reid was arrested on the same day for causing a car crash while driving under the influence of heroin. Both will be sentenced Thursday.

"I don't even get [into] that publicly," Reid said. "I take care of that business outside the public eye here."

Said Childress: "I know Andy, I know the dynamic, I know how he has raised those boys. You know what? Kids are kids. I've had trouble with my kids. He's had his trouble. It always drives a dagger through your heart because of the time you spend away."

Hanging on the office wall of Childress' office in Winter Park is a picture of a fishing trip he took with Reid and their boys in Alaska a few years back. Face-to-face communication, though, is rare these days in their hectic worlds. Trips to the owners meeting or NFL combine allow for interaction, but that's about it.

For about three hours today, however, the two will see plenty of each other. Will the fact Childress is looking across the field at one of his best friends make this game extra special?

"It will be extra special to win it," he said.

Reid likely will tell his buddy in a phone conversation this week that that's exactly the answer he expected.

Judd Zulgad • jzulgad@startribune.com