The story, a decade later, still brings a smile to Nick Mangold‘s face. The real challenge is getting through it without laughing.

During the interview portion of the 2006 NFL Scouting Combine, Mangold, then a little-known center out of Ohio State, was making his rounds talking to different GMs and NFL coaches. He ended up bumping into this tall, mature offensive tackle he’d met back at the Senior Bowl.

D’Brickashaw Ferguson was dressed in a three-piece suit coming in and out of similar meetings. Mangold looked at him, then at his own attire, which very much fit the bill of a country boy from Ohio.

“‘Brick, what are you doing?'” Mangold recalled, a smile spreading ear-to-ear. “He goes, ‘It’s a job interview.’

“I thought, well, shoot. . . there go my chances in the NFL.”

Ten years, 167 games and 10 combined Pro Bowls later, Mangold sat in the auditorium at 1 Jets Drive as he watched the player that has become his best friend officially retire from the NFL. Coincidentally, Mangold was dressed in jeans, an Under Armour sweatshirt and a backwards baseball cap. Ferguson, again, in a three-piece suit.

As Mangold listened to each word Ferguson read, he admitted memories began to come flooding back; all of the moments the two had shared, and how far they’d come. After all, when they first met, they were 20-something-year-old kids hoping to make it big in the NFL.

Now?

Both in their 30s, married– heck, they attended each other’s weddings– and fathers. Ferguson’s wife and daughter, along with Mangold’s expecting wife, were both watching the same speech he was.

The two, who couldn’t have been any different when Ferguson was selected fourth overall in the 2006 NFL Draft, and Mangold 25 picks later, had traveled the same path in life, and taken each step of it side-by-side. And that is what made this particularly difficult for Mangold, because, for the first time, this meant Ferguson wouldn’t be there anymore.

“I always assumed Brick was going to be here longer than me,” Mangold said. “For him to be retiring, and me still here, it’s kinda throwing me off.”

Mangold won’t be able to look down the line to his left and see Ferguson. They won’t eat lunch together in the cafeteria. Ferguson’s seat in the offensive line meeting room will be occupied by another.

It’s all going to be different, and Mangold’s not sure he wants it to be.

The one thing that’s helped him in knowing Ferguson is leaving has been the conversation the two had when Ferguson made the decision to retire. While the news broke last week that ‘Brick’ was hanging up the cleats, Mangold had already known for two weeks.

With Ferguson local, and Mangold in Ohio, the tackle called the center on the phone. He told him his plans, why he was making them, and that this was what he was going to do. Mangold admitted he was shocked and that he didn’t see it coming, but how “at peace” Ferguson was eased his own mind.

It’s all part of the reason Mangold felt the need to express his feelings on his best friend retiring. Once the news became public, he took to Twitter to congratulate Ferguson on his career. Then, he did a few interviews reiterating the same point.

But that wasn’t enough. So, he picked up the phone and dialed his marketing advisor, and took out a full-page ad in the New York Post wishing ‘Brick’ nothing but the best.

“That post, that was awesome,” Ferguson said. “Even though we won’t be teammates, our friendship is going to last.”

Ten years ago, when the two first met, if Mangold was asked to describe Ferguson, he’d have began with something about him as a football player. A decade later, that’s not really the case anymore.

Sure, Ferguson was pretty good on the field. But the “Brick” Mangold knows, the “Brick” he loves, is much more than just a warrior in-between those white lines.

“He’s an even better man,” Mangold said. “Brick’s everything you could ask for in a football player, or a friend. He’s perfect.”

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Connor Hughes covers the Jets and is the managing editor of Jets Wire. He can be reached on Twitter (@Connor_J_Hughes), or via email (chughes@usatoday.com)