Reid has considered leaving Philadelphia only once. That was the year after he arrived, when his alma mater, Brigham Young University, tried to hire him to succeed the retiring LaVell Edwards. Thought about it long and hard before deciding to stay.

"That was a job I always wanted," said Reid, who played for Edwards at BYU and also served as a graduate assistant there. "But when you accept a position and accept a job, you're here to fulfill that job to the best of your abilities. You're responsible for a lot of different people - your staff, your players. You made a commitment to them."

Says LaMonte: "He almost took [the BYU job]. When I say almost, I mean I thought he was doing it. When you're Mormon and the leader of the church asks you to be their coach, you don't say no easily. I'm Catholic. That's like the pope asking me to coach at Notre Dame. I'm going to have to think about it a little."