The Michael Vick experience is heading to a HBCU. He has been hired as the head football coach at Norfolk State in his hometown of Virginia, according to numerous reports.
The Virginian-Pilot, which is a local newspaper, first reported the news Tuesday night. A press conference formally announcing Vick as head coach is expected to take place in the coming days, according to the report. Vick takes the reins over from Dawson Odums, whom Norfolk State showed the door to after a subpar 15-30 record across four seasons.
The Athletic confirmed the Virginian-Pilot’s report, which states that Vick and NSU agreed to a contract on Tuesday. Details and conditions of the deal were not initially made public.
The head coaching position is the first for Vick, who starred as a quarterback collegiately at Virginia Tech and in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons. Vick also reportedly communicated with Sacramento State about their head coaching vacancy. Vick, 44, has very little to no formal coaching experience to speak of. He had a cup of coffee as a coaching intern under his former coach Andy Reid with the Kansas City Chiefs and had a very short stint as the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Legends in the Alliance of American Football. Neither situation lasted for any extended length of time.
“I know how to lead and I know what it takes,” Vick previously told the Virginian-Pilot.
The job keeps Vick close to his childhood roots. Vick grew up and played high school football in nearby Newport News, Virginia. He then went on to star for two seasons as a quarterback at Virginia Tech.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn his first season as Virginia Tech’s starter in 1999, Vick led the Hokies to an 11-1 record and No. 2 ranking in the Associated Press poll. Virginia Tech’s only blemish that season came in a Sugar Bowl matchup for the national championship against the Florida State Seminoles. He was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and finished third in the voting as a freshman behind winner Ron Dayne.
As a sophomore in 2000, Vick led the Hokies to another 11-1 campaign and finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting. The following spring, the Atlanta Falcons selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Vick initially lived up to his extreme hype as an electric dual threat who changed how the quarterback position was played in the NFL forever. After spending most of his rookie season learning from the bench behind Chris Chandler, Vick emerged as a Pro Bowler his first year as the Falcons starter in 2002.
He earned three Pro Bowl nods in five seasons as the Falcons’ starter and twice finished in the top four in MVP voting. As an electric runner, passer and playmaker, he evolved into one of the NFL’s biggest stars and personalities.
Then things took a drastic turn for the worst. His involvement in a dog-fighting scandal foiled his life and his career. Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels was found to have tortured and killed pit bulls as part of a dog-fighting operation. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Vick and his entourage hanged and drowned multiple dogs as part of their operation.
Vick initially denied directly taking part in the slaughtering and killing of dogs. After failing a polygraph test, he acknowledged to authorities to “taking part in the actual hanging of the dogs,” according to the USDA report.
Vick pleaded guilty in 2007 to a federal charge connected to the dogfighting ring. He also faced state charges in Virginia of torturing and killing dogs and promoting dogfighting. He pleaded guilty in that case to the dogfighting charge. The second charge was dropped as part of his plea agreement.
Vick served 21 months in prison and was released in 2009. He was out of the NFL for two seasons.
He returned to the league with the Philadelphia Eagles after his release. He spent five seasons with the Eagles and another season each with the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers before his retirement after the 2015 season.
Vick has worked as a football analyst at Fox Sports since his retirement.
