Matt Nagy considers himself fortunate — actually, "blessed" is the word he chooses — to be playing football at the age of 30, not to mention making a living at it. But he knows these precious days won't last forever.
Which is why he couldn't be happier about spending three weeks trying to sleep in a college dorm and hustling from practice to meetings to practice to films, and then doing it all over again, as an intern assistant coach in the Eagles' training camp.
"For me right now, it's like (being) a kid in a candy store, just trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can," the former Manheim Central and University of Delaware quarterback said after Friday's afternoon workout at Lehigh University. "Not a lot of people get this opportunity, so I'm going to make sure I use it to the best of my ability."
Nagy got the opportunity thanks to a former teammate and wide receiver at Delaware, Brett Veach, who now works for the Eagles as an assistant to head coach Andy Reid. Each year, the Eagles add several interns to their staff for training camp, and when Veach called Nagy with an offer, Nagy was all ears.
He will be here until Aug. 10 or 11, he said, when he has committed to the job of offensive coordinator for Palmyra High School. So one might say he's building the foundation for a career in football when it's time to hang up the shoulder pads.
"High school coaching has always been something I've wanted to do," he said. "I've always wanted to play as long as I can, and I'm blessed to be able to do that at 30 years old. But I have a family (wife and two sons, with twins on the way), so I need to be sure that when football's done, I'll be able to get into something that I love to do."
Based on his own description, Nagy's not doing a lot of active coaching in this opportunity. But he is doing a lot of listening, and a lot of learning.
It's something of an extra plus to do that learning from a head coach like Reid, who also coached quarterbacks under Mike Holmgren in Green Bay.
"The West Coast Offense is such a special offense, and it's really like a second language," Nagy said. "It's a unique offense that has a lot of valuable points, and to learn it from guys like Coach Reid and Coach (Marty) Mornhinweg and Coach (Pat) Shurmur ... is just really neat.
"We're watching tape of Joe Montana and Steve Young and John Elway, guys that have run the West Coast system. To see that and understand why they're running certain plays and what they're doing, is pretty cool."
As any Baron fan will be glad to tell you, Nagy already knows a thing or two about football. After a sterling career at Delaware, during which he rewrote the passing pages of the Blue Hens' record book, he went on to the Arena Football League, in which he has now played six seasons.
He has led two teams, the Georgia Force in 2005 and the Columbus Destroyers last year, into the Arena Bowl, and is coming off perhaps his best pro season, having set Columbus franchise records for attempts, completions and yardage in 2008.
Nagy also holds a real estate license, and has pursued that off-season career for the last several years. So between his real estate job, this internship and preparing with his wife, Stacey, for two more boys -- "half an Arena team," he said with a laugh -- his summer is moving fast.
Notes: The Eagles' first full-squad practice was a relatively brief (1:08), workout in shorts, helmets and shoulder pads, after conditioning Friday morning. ... McCaskey's Kris Wilson grabbed a deep pass from second-year QB Kevin Kolb during 11-on-11 no-contact action. Full pads go on this morning at 8:15, followed by a second practice at 2:45 p.m. ... Guard Shawn Andrews has been placed on the Reserve/Did Not Report list, and his roster spot filled by guard Cameron Stephenson (6-3, 314), a fifth-round pick of the Steelers in 2007. Andrews' absence is unexcused and unexplained, leaving an unhappy Reid with little else to say about the two-time Pro Bowler.
E-mail: jyoung@lnpnews.com
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