When Scott Milanovich said he wanted to be a football coach, he wasn't kidding.

The former Butler, University of Maryland, NFL, XFL and Arena League quarterback has become as traveled on the sidelines as he was in uniform.

"I've coached 38 football games in the past year," Milanovich said. "Anyone who knows football knows that's too many.

"I've crammed seven years of coaching experience into four calendar years. But that was by design."

Milanovich, 31, has coached football at Sickles High School in Tampa, Fla., and Cornell High School in New York. His first collegiate coaching post was with Alfred (N.Y.) University as a volunteer quarterback coach in 2001.

He has since coached with the Rhein Fire in NFL Europe and the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. Still involved with both teams, Milanovich joined the Mansfield University coaching staff this fall and is coaching quarterbacks for the PSAC East squad.

"I feel so fortunate to get Scott," Mansfield coach Jim Shiffer said. "We had some last-minute coaching turnover and he came on board just before this season started."

Milanovich found out about the part-time job opening through a friend, Kevin O'Neal, who coached running backs for Rhein of NFL Europe.

O'Neal was another of Shiffer's late hires and told Milanovich of the opportunity.

"All three coaches I hired late were coaching in Germany," Shiffer said. "(Linebacker coach) Dave Likins was working with a semi-pro team over there."

Shiffer is in his first year at Mansfield. The Mountaineers are coming off an 8-3 season, the school's first winning campaign since 1975.

Mansfield has 15 starters back from that team, but none are quarterbacks.

"It's been a slow process," Milanovich said. "We've flip-flopped quarterbacks a couple of times and we've settled on a guy who was playing tight end.

"We were blown out by California (Pa.) (63-6) in our first game, but we've been competitive in our last two games. The next step is to win," he added.

Mansfield is 0-3 entering play this weekend.

Milanovich's next step is to decide the level of football he wants to coach.

"I'd be more than happy to settle in here for a couple of years, but I know I have to make a decision soon and commit to it," he said. "I'm getting comfortable with the staff at Mansfield.

"I don't have any goals like I have to be coaching in the NFL or at a major college by a certain year. That may never happen. I don't need to have 60,000 people in the stands to enjoy doing this.

"I'm flexible about what level of coaching I wind up at. I just have to decide," he added.

Milanovich always knew how he wanted to earn a living once he was through playing football.

"My father (former Butler coach and athletic director Gary Milanovich) coached football and I grew up with that," he said. "Coaching is what I always knew I'd end up doing.

"Other than my family, it's the only thing I'm passionate about."

Milanovich and his family live in Alfred, N.Y., and he has an hour commute to and from practice each day. He stays home and watches his children before leaving at 2:30 p.m. each day.

"Watching the kids and running errands keep me plenty busy," he said.

"Timing is everything," Shiffer said. "The moon and the stars were aligned when I got Scott Milanovich. He's a great teacher. The kids like and respect him.

"They know where he's been. They know he has a lot to offer," he added.

Milanovich knows it, too.

"Going to work and teaching football for a living," he said. "It's what I want to do. It's what I was meant to do."