Eagles' Vince Young ready to work his way back

In strode a tall, confident-looking man. He wore black Reeboks, black shorts and a green and white Eagles visor, under which his eyes glanced out over the practice field where his friend was directing the Eagles first team offense.

The two had first met on the field at a preseason game in 2005, and now here he was, set to follow in Michael Vick's footsteps.

At first, fans had their attention drawn to the Eagles on the field, not the man in the unnamed No. 9 red jersey. His calves could give him away: the left is tattooed with an old-English "V," and underneath it reads: "Vince." The right has a "Y," above his surname, "Young."

Fans roared and cheered the 6-foot-5 Vince Young when they recognized their newest toy, the college national championship-winning quarterback and currently labeled bust of a No. 3 overall pick.

He signed his deal with the Eagles - a one-year contract with approximately $3.5 million guaranteed and incentives that can bring it up to $5.5 million total, according to a league source - for many reasons.

Young saw Reid at a Maxim Award show before the Heisman finalist was to be drafted. Young's mother had always told him, "If you see someone you really respect, don't be shy to go up and speak."

Reid thought it was unusual, but a pleasant surprise, to see a player of Young's caliber approach a coach, instead of the other way around. The dynamic player just wanted to know how the wise coach had groomed Donovan McNabb. "What were the things that made him successful?" Young asked.

"I was impressed by him," Reid said, recalling the encounter. He enjoyed the conversation even though the Eagles had no shot at drafting Young, whose respect for Reid never died. That's why he chose Philadelphia to revive his career.

"Andy Reid," Young said laughing, "the respect that I had for him, I met him a long time ago. Some things that just stand out about him: that he has respect across the league, as well as how players talk about him and have his respect as well."

Reid's resume includes developing McNabb into a perennial Pro Bowler and bringing Vick's career back from the dead after he spent time in jail for operating a dogfighting ring. Young didn't find trouble in the law, but he was accused of being immature, and fell out of favor with Titans coach Jeff Fisher on several occasions.

"He was a good guy [in Tennessee]," said newly signed Eagles defensive end Jason Babin, who was Young's teammate in 2010, and who also has faced his own share of adversity playing for five teams in eight years. "Obviously, there's some situations that went on, obviously behind closed doors and on the field. But I think, speaking from personal experience, when you get fired, there's a personal evaluation that goes on. You're like - it's humbling when it happens - 'Listen, this is what I have to do now. I have to earn it back, whatever it takes.' "

Luckily for Young, Reid was interested. He felt Young could help the team and he took the idea to Vick, who thought it was an "excellent" idea.

"We may need him one day, so we're going to make him the best quarterback that he can become," Vick said.

"I can't be Vince's coach, but aside from football things, we tend to struggle in life. And just being there for one another and asking questions and just building a relationship. I think, as far as football, he'll be able to watch and see how I handle certain situations and how I approach the game. I think it'll rub off on him."

The two have stayed in contact since they first met, sending e-mails back and forth: "Keep your head up," they would say. Young plans on keeping his head high, watching film, studying, paying attention, and being coachable - those are his checkpoints on what he has to continue to do to get better.

A few minutes after his unofficial introduction, Young and his fellow quarterbacks - Vick, standing next to Mike Kafka and Jarrod Johnson - and their position coach, Doug Pederson, talked strategy as the special teams practiced. The moment captured the Eagles' present, distant future and somewhere-in-between.

But can Young overcome the football vices that doomed him in Tennessee? He says he wants to be the type of backup that pushes Vick to be his best and for playing time. Or will Reid uncover the quarterback that threw for more than 4,700 yards in his first two seasons?

"It is definitely behind me," Young said of his experience in Tennessee. "It was learning experience. I'm a work-in-[progress]. Ain't no one perfect in the league."