Kolb's parents excited about son as Eagles' new starting QB

ROY AND LANELL KOLB were home in Flatonia, Texas, Sunday night when the news moved across the crawl at the bottom of their TV screen: Donovan McNabb had been traded to the Redskins. Their phone rang right after that, a sequence they had hoped to avoid when they had discussed with their son, Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb, how news might arrive of his ascension to the starting role.

"I told him, 'I better not see that [crawl] first,' but it wasn't his fault," Roy Kolb said yesterday. "He was on the phone with coach [Andy] Reid and I think it must have gotten out real quick, before he could call anybody . . . I just told him that we were real excited for him and he should really be proud of himself . . . then I just kind of let it go, because the 2 minutes I was on the phone, I heard his phone beep four times. I knew he was getting a lot of calls."

The days since the news broke have been hectic for the Kolbs, who moved from Stephenville, Texas, where Kevin went to high school, to Flatonia, 187 miles south, a few years ago, after Roy decided to build and manage an RV park there.

"It took me about a day to settle down and get used to the idea," Roy said. "Now I'm excited, and I'm really happy for Kevin. I know that's what he's wanted for a long time, and he's worked pretty hard to get where he is."

Kevin holds his summer football camp in Stephenville, which has been abuzz with anticipation.

"The phone's been ringing off the hook . . . I heard it was a big, front-page deal in the newspaper," Roy said. "I think the town's pretty excited."

Eagles fans should be excited, as well, Roy believes. That's a personal and professional opinion, from a longtime football coach who tutored his son at Stephenville's Decatur Junior High.

"I think they're going to be surprised at how accurate he is, and how he can make plays on the move, too, like Donovan can," Roy said of his son, who last year became the first NFL quarterback to throw for 300 yards in each of his first two starts. "He has this reputation, and I have no idea where it came from, that he's not very mobile, but he's a strong kid, he's very athletic. I think they're going to be surprised at his athleticism. And he's very smart. He will not go into a game not being prepared."

Roy and Lanell are looking forward to seeing their son later this week. Kevin's wife, Whitney, is scheduled for induced labor tomorrow in the Fort Worth area to deliver the couple's second daughter.

"It's a lot going on right now; our lives are changing daily, it seems like," said Roy, who just a few weeks ago welcomed another grandchild, born to Kevin's older sister, Amy. "But it's all for the good."

Lanell Kolb still teaches junior-high reading. Roy manages the RV park and prepares bids for a company that makes commercial cabinets. When Kevin was a backup, their practice was to attend all the preseason games, plus two regular-season games a year, along with spending Thanksgiving and Christmas in the Philadelphia area. They might want to see more than two games this season.

"We'll just have to see what the budget can handle," Roy said. "We're definitely going to try to make it to every game, but we'll have to see."

Roy said Kevin "is taking this all in stride," and perhaps had a better idea than his parents that the McNabb trade was about to unfold. "He's prepared himself for this," he said. "He's ready to go."

The ex-coach said he is glad Kevin, who turns 26 in August, served that 3-year apprenticeship to McNabb.

"Kevin got to watch and learn and grow up," he said. "I know last year when I saw him play, he was like a totally different kid than he was his first year. I know he's ready to go."

Roy said he thinks his son will play well and benefit from an outstanding group of receivers, but he hopes fans are a bit patient this first year, given all the changes.

"The team is so young; they got rid of a lot of veterans," he said. "If you look through the history of sports, any time you have a young team, they're going to go through some ups and downs. I think Kevin's mature enough, and the guys that he's playing with, even though they're young, they do have 2 or 3 years of actual playing time under their belt. I think they're going to be OK.

"If times do get tough, he's going to work that much harder. If things go wrong, he's going to work harder and get better."

Roy didn't want to mention any names, he said, but he believes his son might be better positioned for success than some of the other QBs from the 2007 draft, who were "thrown to the wolves." The two quarterbacks drafted before Kevin that year were JaMarcus Russell, by the Raiders, and Brady Quinn, by the Browns.

"Coming from the University of Houston, nobody knew who Kevin was," Roy recalled, "especially Philadelphia fans; they had no idea who Kevin was. But I'm telling you, they're going to be real happy. I think Kevin's gonna take 'em to places they haven't been before."

The Eagles announced that center/guard Nick Cole signed his 1-year, restricted-free-agent tender, which will earn him $1.759 million this year. Cole's agent had been hoping for a long-term contract before the Eagles tendered Cole at the second-round level.

Originally a rookie free agent in 2006, Cole has played in 64 Eagles regular-season contests (22 starts) and six playoff games (four starts). He started in every game in 2009, at three positions (nine at right guard, six at left guard, and two at center).

That leaves unsigned guard Max Jean-Gilles (fourth), and punter Sav Rocca, who was tendered at the lowest level. The deadline for players to sign their tenders is April 15.

For more Eagles coverage and opinion, read the Daily News' Eagles blog, Eagletarian, at www.eagletarian.com.