By Mark Eckel | Engagement Insider
Duce Staley started as a coaching intern in the Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Program and is now the Philadelphia Eagles running backs coach. Tra Thomas did the same and is now the Eagles assistant offensive line coach.
This year Lito Sheppard, who was a teammate of both Staley and Thomas with the Eagles, is in the program and helping out the defensive backs. Is he the next former Eagles player to become an assistant coach?
“I’m not actually coaching yet,’’ Sheppard said after a training camp practice. “I’m interning with hopes of becoming a coach. But this is a good opportunity for me.’’
Sheppard, a 2002 first-round draft pick of Philadelphia, played seven years at cornerback for the Eagles, went to two Pro Bowls, was named All-Pro, and was part of the team that went to the Super Bowl in 2004 after near misses his first two years in the league.
Still young at 33 years old, but his playing career over after one-year stops with the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings and Oakland Raiders, he’s looking for that next step in life.
“I’ve been working out, staying in shape, hoping to get back out there,’’ Sheppard, who last played in 2012 said. “I’m not officially retired, but it’s moving to that direction.’’
After a year away from the game, Sheppard is back. He’s not making plays on the field as he once did, but he’s helping a group of young Eagles cornerbacks get better in training camp.
“It’s an adjustment,’’ Sheppard said of leaving the game as a player. “I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s tough. What’s tough is just figuring out what you want to do after you’re finished playing. This is an avenue, a venture to get us back to what we have done all of our lives.
“I played 10 years, made two Pro Bowls, I think I have something to give back to the game. I feel I can help this team, this organization.’’
Sheppard got in touch with Staley and Thomas when he decided he might want to try coaching and his two former teammates, who made the transition rather smoothly, were able to help.
“Getting back in contact with some former players, ones who are coaching now, just seeing what different options could take me in that direction that was key,’’ Sheppard said.
“You know it can happen, because it happened for them. Those two guys helped me a lot in terms of getting me into the program, telling me who I should get in contact with and the steps from that point. It’s a good thing that there are guys out there who have had success you can reach out to for help.’’
Now, Sheppard is helping young players try to realize the dream he’s already achieved.
“It’s more than coaching Xs and Os,’’ he said. “Now if you can relate to guys and get them to understand you’ve been where they’re at, you can get your points across a lot easier. As a player who’s been there and done that, the highest of the highs, I want to see these guys make it to the same level. But it still all starts with fundamentals and technique.’’
Sheppard picked the Eagles to intern, well, because it’s the Eagles and even though he didn’t recognize too many faces. It was still a coming home of sorts.
“I picked to go to the Eagles, but ultimately, they have to accept you,’’ he said. “No, they aren’t (the same Eagles). But as far as my history with the team, being a first-round draft pick, playing seven years here, going to two Pro Bowls, a Super Bowl, I felt like I had some value here, more so than if I had gone somewhere else.
“They have a great program here. Chip (Kelly) pays attention to a lot of the small details that’s going to take these guys a long ways. They will contend. I mean, it’s all a process and you don’t want to overjump your boundaries, but you know it’s a process and steps that you have to take to get to certain places.’’
Who knows where this internship will take him, but it’s a not a long shot to think he can follow his former teammates Staley and Thomas.
“If I have a chance to give back I want to give back to the team, the organization that helped me get started,’’ Sheppard said.