Childress, Reid: Friends and rivals

Turns out he might not have been completely forthcoming.

With the Vikings set to play host to Philadelphia in an NFC first-round game Sunday, Childress admitted Monday, "I don't particularly relish playing those guys just from a personal standpoint."

There is good reason. In going against Philadelphia, Childress will be facing many familiar faces, including his former boss and one of his best friends in Eagles coach Andy Reid. The two have a long history together and Childress served as an assistant under Reid from 1999 to 2005 before taking the Vikings job. Their families are close and they still talk on a regular basis about football and life.

One of those conversations took place Sunday night after Childress learned his upcoming opponent. The Eagles had just claimed the sixth and final seed in the NFC playoffs with a 44-6 victory over Dallas.

Childress, enjoying a glass of wine and the company of family and friends after the Vikings' last-second victory over the Giants gave them the NFC North title, sent a text message to Reid. Reid responded with a phone call.

"We just talked about circumstances," Childress said. "How they started the day, how we started the day, the season. It's amazing how the last week plays itself out."

Childress and Reid had plenty to commiserate about this year. The Vikings started Childress' third season with a 1-3 record and fans called for him to be fired during an October victory over Detroit at the Metrodome.

Reid, in his 10th year as Eagles coach, also had plenty of downs before ups, losing three of his first five games. He came under heavy criticism during a 36-7 loss on Nov. 23 at Baltimore when he pulled Donovan McNabb at halftime but did not tell the veteran quarterback himself that he was going to be benched for the first time in his career. The Eagles were 5-5-1 and in last place in the NFC East at that point.

Philadelphia finished on a 4-1 roll; the Vikings won seven of their last nine.

"We don't waste our time with that," Reid told the Philadelphia media Monday when asked if he and Childress ever discuss the criticism they receive. "To be honest with you, I don't read much. ... Listen, you all have your job to do and you're going to do it no matter how you think I feel or Brad feels or anybody else, but I don't get into that."

Although some might consider this to be a mentor-student relationship, it really isn't. Reid was Childress' boss in Philadelphia, but the two actually first coached together in the late 1980s at Northern Arizona. In that case, Childress was the offensive coordinator and Reid was the offensive line coach. Childress, 52, is two years older than Reid.

"We've always been that way," Reid said of the two being equals. "I don't ever look at the hierarchy of things. I don't put people in those categories, so that part has never changed. He's a good football coach. He's a good friend. He's done a nice job."

Although the two worked together, they don't necessarily share the same beliefs about how to win games. Childress is a firm believer in the ground game; Reid loves to throw it. Reid called most of the offensive plays in Philadelphia but Childress wasn't afraid to speak his mind.

Asked about the difference in their personalties, the dry-humored Childress said: "I don't know, he's maybe a little more, if you can imagine this, flat-lined than I am. It's hard for you to see that, right?"

Both are pretty flat-line guys and it's likely neither will be even tempted to pick up the phone again this week to call the other. They undoubtedly will be trying to figure out a way to out-fox the other, attempting to use familiarity gained in friendly conversations and through year's of working side-by-side as a weapon.

Childress' knowledge of the Eagles system and personnel runs deep. He became the team's quarterbacks coach in 1999, the same year Philadelphia took McNabb second overall in the draft. Childress was McNabb's position coach until 2001 and then became the team's offensive coordinator.

But Childress' insight about the Eagles did not help much last season, when these teams met for the first time since he left. Philadelphia handed the Vikings a 23-16 defeat on Oct. 28, 2007, at the Metrodome. "I'd like to think [that familiarity] does [help] but you know I also know playoff football," Childress said. "You talk about breaking that plate [of tendencies] every four weeks in the season. ... I imagine they'll have some surprises. They've got surprises. I know that. You try to be ready for them."