Scott Milanovich admits he would like to return to the NFL some day, but for now, this former Butler Area High School quarterback is satisfied with his current job.

Milanovich, 35, is a coach in the Canadian Football League. He was named the offensive coordinator of the Montreal Alouettes on Jan. 9 after spending the 2007 season as the team's quarterbacks coach.

"I've always wanted to be a coach in the NFL," he said. "I guess if I had one ultimate goal, that would be it. But I'm happy to be doing what I'm doing. I haven't really concerned myself with my next move, and it's served me well."

It's been more than 11 years since Milanovich played in his only regular-season NFL game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He now lives in Hornell, N.Y., where he is spending this offseason developing a new playbook for the Alouettes, who will start their season in June.

Milanovich said he is excited to work with new Montreal head coach Marc Trestman, a former offensive coordinator in the NFL with Cleveland, San Francisco, Arizona and Oakland.

"He's a long-time NFL guy," Milanovich said. "I can learn from him and grow as a coach."

Milanovich started as a coach in the CFL in 2003, when he retired as a player with Calgary to become the team's quarterbacks coach. He then moved on to NFL Europe, where he was an assistant coach for four seasons. He was the offensive coordinator for Cologne in 2006 after holding the same job with Rhein the previous year.

It turned out NFL Europe, which disbanded after the 2007 season, was the perfect place for Milanovich to grow as a coach.

"It was a situation where there wasn't a lot of pressure," he said. "It was the perfect place to get started and make mistakes without fans, media and the organization coming down on you.

"They were concerned with developing players, not who won the championship. That was the whole thing. It was a great experience for me. I got to hone my craft somewhere where I wasn't under a great deal of scrutiny."

That's certain to change this season. Montreal finished 8-10 in 2007, and Milanovich will be responsible for turning around an offense that finished seventh out of eight teams in points scored (20.1 per game) in 2007.

Milanovich thinks he has a good starting point with quarterback Anthony Calvillo, a 14-year CFL veteran who tried out for the Steelers in 2003. Calvillo passed for 3,608 yards and 17 touchdowns for the Alouettes last season.

"Anthony is great," Milanovich said. "He's a pro. He works hard. I use him as a reference. He has a lot to offer in the meeting rooms and on the field.

"If you don't have a quarterback, you don't have a chance. I'm fortunate to have him."

After a standout career at Butler playing for coach Tim Nunes, Milanovich went on to a successful tenure for the University of Maryland from 1992-95 and set the school record for career passing yards with 7,301, which still stands.

He was a backup quarterback with the Buccaneers from 1996-99. He appeared in one regular-season game in '96, completing 2 of 3 passes for 9 yards in a loss at Detroit.

His playing career also included stints in NFL Europe, the XFL, the Arena Football League and the CFL.

Milanovich, whose father, Gary, is a former athletic director and assistant football coach at Butler High, said he has no regrets about his playing days.

"I feel like I got the most out of it that I could," Milanovich said. "When I was done, I knew that my time was done. I was good enough to hang around for a little while. I don't feel cheated. I went about it as well as I could."