A signature away from joining Eagles.

Way back in the day Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis interviewed for the Eagles' defensive coordinator job that eventually went to Jim Johnson.

Lewis, then the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, was looking for a house in the Philadelphia area and was all but ready to seal the deal. He'd had a good friendship with Andy Reid.

"The Saturday that Andy was getting the job, we had an opportunity to visit a couple of times about the position," Lewis said on a conference call Tuesday. "It was very close. But at that point Mr. Modell just kind of offered an opportunity for me and Ozzie (Newsome) to stay put in Baltimore and not have to move my family. Obviously having an opportunity to come over to Philly and spend time with Mr. Lurie and Andy and hear their vision of where things were headed was great. I probably made more of a family decision at that point to stay put and not move.

"Jim Johnson was hired and they never looked back. So it all worked out."

Lewis and Reid get together again Thursday when the Eagles entertain the Bengals at Lincoln Financial Field.

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