According to "17.4.6 Ethernet Control Register (ECR)" in the Reference Manual, "The reset sequence takes approximately eight internal bus clock cycles after this bit is set.". So if you're seeing it take "some seconds" (millions of times longer) then it is probably a delay in whatever software you're running to initialise the FEC.
So you should be checking the software to see if it has a "ready function" or a "ready callback" to find when it is finished.
You delay might be due to the link taking a while to become active. The PHY might take a while to sync up with the remote. You should have some softwre that handles the FEC MMFR register. This is used to communicate with the PHY to see if it is ready and connected to a hub or switch. Likewise it might have a function you can call to find the current state.
Tom
