Keeping the six young graduate assistants on staff in line was one of Mike Holmgren’s duties as Brigham Young University’s assistant football coach in 1982.
He soon came to appreciate one in particular, Andy Reid, a 24-year-old Southern California offensive tackle who had previously played for BYU. Reid was a terrific listener, took a lot of notes, and was loved by Holmgren, who was ten years older, because of his combination of football curiosity and self-effacement.
According to Holmgren, we became buddies. He would visit my home for lunch. He assisted me in setting up a playground for my children in the backyard. It was a lot of fun, and they were young at the time.
The traits that Holmgren saw in Reid during his first year of coaching have helped Reid develop a much larger case to be regarded as one of the greatest coaches in NFL history, which is why he laughed when he recounted the story more than 40 years later.