"There weren't egos," Harbaugh said. "On other staffs I'd been on and heard about, you'd pull into the parking lot and just see some guy's car, and it would bring you down. On Andy's staff, you couldn't wait to be around the guys."

"He makes a point to find guys that have great character, and smart guys," Frazier said. "You get a guy who has character and is a relatively bright guy, Andy's philosophy is, 'If he's a good person, all the other stuff will come.' There's a lot of truth to that."

Of course, they had to be able to coach, too.

Frazier helped send Brian Dawkins, Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor to the Pro Bowl. Spagnuolo coached the defensive backs when Lito Sheppard and Michael Lewis went. Rivera helped Jeremiah Trotter get there. Childress oversaw Donovan McNabb's early development, and helped him get to Hawaii. Even Harbaugh saw one of his charges make it: special-teams standout Ike Reese.

Now, they all continue to draw from the painstaking preparation habits of Reid and Johnson.

"Always, they told us: 'Expect the unexpected,' " Rivera said. "That there's a right way to coach football."

No one understands that better than a pair of Reid's current coaches. Sean McDermott, hired in 2000 as a low-level assistant, and quarterbacks coach Pat Shurmur, part of the original staff as tight ends coach, are considered the staff's up-and-comers, according to two NFL sources.

McDermott might be hotter, given the profiles of Johnson's former assistants (Harbaugh coached defensive backs in 2007 and attended defensive meetings during his tenure as special-teams coach). Each has adopted a version of his blitz-heavy scheme that creates sacks and forces turnovers.

"They have their own ideas, but they have a foundation, the philosophy of the defense - the pressure package," Johnson said. "I know all of them are using it."

Frazier's Vikings ranked fourth in sacks, with 45, and, for the second straight season, allowed the fewest rushing yards in the league. Harbaugh's Ravens led the league with 26 interceptions. Spagnuolo's defense was, at times, dominant, despite the retirement of end Michael Strahan and a flood of injuries.

Of course, it was Reid who hired, empowered and retained Johnson - a move of genius itself.

What does it say that Reid's original staff has had so much success?

"I don't know how to answer that," Reid said.

His departed protégés do. They talk about it when they congregate at the annual scouting combine in Indianapolis, where the guy who got the biggest promotion or raise buys dinner for the rest.

"They do?" asked Harbaugh, this year's designated host. "I didn't know that. I can't wait."

It will hardly be a last supper for these disciples.

"Andy taught us all an awful lot about professional football - not just the X's and O's, but the administration, running a good staff, that sort of thing," Childress said. "It's a pretty doggone good template."