Eagles' Kolb had to show patience sitting behind McNabb

Third in the

season-preview series.

It was an awkward moment.

The rookie quarterback was to meet the franchise quarterback for the first time.

A few weeks earlier, the Eagles had used their top draft pick to take the rookie, a move that "shocked" the starter.

But here they were: Kevin Kolb, understandably nervous, and Donovan McNabb, introducing himself with his trademark sarcasm.

"The very first time I met him he called me 'The Future,' like right off the bat," Kolb said. "So I was like, 'Aw, man,' because I didn't know anything about Donovan. I just heard from [reporters]. But after that first initial handshake . . . "

Kolb paused, grimaced and raised his hands as if to say, "Everything was A-OK."

There were certainly times that were less than A-OK for both parties. Sitting behind McNabb for three years wasn't exactly easy for Kolb, although it did have many advantages. And McNabb had to play with the second-round pick always there, just over his shoulder.

"There were times that he was sarcastic, but I just let it roll right off my back," Kolb said. "I learned this real fast: My job as the backup was to get better as a player and to make sure he was in the best mind-frame possible to win football games. So that's the way I took it.

"I didn't take it as 'I got to go in there and prove myself and try to hold my ground,' or anything like that. I just tried to make the relationship as good as possible, and it was really good."

It was, for the most part, a really good working relationship. Kolb got to observe and learn from one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and McNabb didn't have some impatient backup sticking needles in his back.

That doesn't mean Kolb didn't want to play.

"It was very frustrating for him," Kendal Briles said.

Kolb once sat behind Briles at Stephenville High School. They eventually teamed up at Houston, with quarterback Kolb throwing to wide receiver Briles, and became best friends.

So did Kolb ever say he just wanted to be traded?

"It was like when people say stuff, but they don't really mean it, because they know how good it is," said Briles, now an assistant coach at Baylor. "But he wanted to play. He would think, 'I want to get traded. I want to get that big contract. I want to do something.'

"But he also knew that, 'Hey, as long as I'm staying here and I'm the backup and I'm still making money and I'm not getting injured, it's all pretty good, too.' "

Kolb bided his time and soaked up whatever he could until his chance came. When it finally did, it was apparent the "The Future" wasn't ready. But when another opportunity arose, Kolb grabbed it by the horns.

It was enough to convince the Eagles, after scrutinizing Kolb for three years as he waited, to make the move that that long ago initial awkward meeting suggested: The franchise quarterback was being replaced by the rookie quarterback.

Preparation for the backup quarterback is different than it is for the starter, because you're supposed to prepare as if you're the starter even though you hardly get any first-team repetitions at practice and, well, you're not the starter.

"I think all your quarterbacks believe they can start in the NFL," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "It's preparation when you're not starting that's important. And I think Kevin did that, which a lot of guys don't."

As the backup, you have to be ready at a moment's notice, whether it's because the starter is getting yanked - as McNabb was against the Baltimore Ravens in November 2008 - or because he got hurt.

McNabb got hurt a lot, but that didn't mean he was coming out.

"Donovan wasn't necessarily easy to play behind," said Randy Clements, Kolb's offensive coordinator at Stephenville High and the University of Houston. "He'd get hurt and always come over to the sideline and tell Kevin to get warmed up because there was no way he'd be able to get back out there.

"And next thing you know, he's out there on the next drive throwing a 60-yard TD. It played with Kevin."

While others close to Kolb corroborated this story, Kolb said he could only recall it happening once before.

"Shoot, that's one thing people can't take away from [Donovan]. He's tough as nails. He took a lot of big hits and just got up," Kolb said. "That's one of the things I told myself that I would never do to a backup because he never did it to me. I can see how that emotional battle would really play with your mind."

In last season's opener, McNabb did get hurt and this time couldn't return. He cracked his rib in the third quarter against the Carolina Panthers, and Kolb finally had his chance to redeem himself after he bombed in the Ravens game a year earlier.

The Carolina game was already in hand, but Kolb found out a day later that he was to start the next two games as McNabb recovered. He knew this would be his one opportunity to prove that he could play in the NFL, and he had to do it against the eventual Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints, no less.

"Career-wise, that New Orleans game was huge for me," Kolb said. "It was a one-game showcase for me, and it was either, 'He can do it' or 'He's going to be a backup for the rest of his life.' "

The first half went well - Kolb completed 14 of 22 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown. The second half? Not so well - he threw three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Despite the 48-22 loss, Kolb came away convinced that he had what it took even though the first week took a toll.

"After the New Orleans game, I ran out of the interview at the end because the week was so hard on me," Kolb said. "Andy warned me of this: 'Don't play the game Thursday, Friday, Saturday in your mind,' and that's what I did. I wanted to be successful so bad I lost so much sleep, I wasn't eating a lot, and it caught up to me about midway through the third quarter."

The following week, Kolb slept like a baby. The results: an Eagles win and the quarterback completing 24 of 34 passes for 327 yards and two touchdowns. In a now oft-told feat, Kolb became the first quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards in his first two starts.

"He knew he could play. He was prepared to play," said Art Briles, Kolb's coach at Houston, Kendal's father and now the head coach at Baylor. "But then he solidified that he is an NFL quarterback, but not only to him, but to the Eagles' brass. That was critical."

When the 2009 Eagles were blown out by the Cowboys in the season finale and in the first round of the playoffs by a combined score of 58-14, and McNabb struggled mightily, the die had been cast.

The Eagles had decided McNabb was to be traded and Kolb would assume the controls. The decision was ultimately made by the front office and, in the end, Reid. But offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, who has coached some of the best quarterbacks to run the West Coast, handed in his evaluation, and it leaned toward going with Kolb.

"This guy doesn't miss much," Mornhinweg said. "Kevin Kolb has got guts. . . .He respects the game and playing it is important to him."

Kolb, though, had his doubts that a change was in place.

"You went, 'Golly, it's like everyone says: You're going to get rid of a six-time Pro Bowl quarterback who put up the most yards an Eagles offense ever put up?' " Kolb said. "So you kept questioning whether it was going to ever happen."

Kolb had long conversations with his inner circle of family, friends, former coaches, and agent Jeff Nalley about what he would do if the Eagles stayed with McNabb. He could have asked for a trade, but he had one year left on his deal and, in truth, he didn't want to leave.

Along with many of the other young Eagles, Kolb stayed in Philadelphia during the off-season and worked out at the NovaCare Complex. He said he thought to himself, "Man, I don't want to leave here. This is set up right for my kind of deal."

Kolb thought about the Chiefs game when in the third quarter he slung a perfectly timed pass to DeSean Jackson. The receiver was able to pivot and run for extra yards, and afterward he sought out Kolb on the sidelines.

"He just kind of looked at me and he was, like, 'Damn, nice throw, dude,' " Kolb said. " . . . And you could see the wheels turning in his mind."

And then it happened. On Easter Sunday, the Eagles dealt McNabb to Washington and a new era was born.

Mornhinweg has had a hand in the development of great quarterbacks like Brett Favre, Steve Young, Jeff Garcia and, of course, McNabb. But he was also partly responsible for Joey Harrington. The 48-year-old coach is not quite ready to crown Kolb as the heir apparent.

"He really hasn't done anything," Mornhinweg said. "So it feels a little funny to me. It's going too far. It's too early. Why would you compare any guy to Hall of Fame-type players when he's only making his third start?"

"The Future" is unknown, but it has arrived and commences Sunday when the Eagles host the Green Bay Packers.