Michael Vick has been a school soccer phenom, an NFL star, a convicted felon, a cautionary story, a comeback participant of the yr and, not too long ago, he turned a corridor of famer.
Now, he’s Coach Vick.
Norfolk State, a traditionally black FCS college within the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in Vick’s residence state, is hiring the previous Virginia Tech quarterback whose NFL profession was interrupted when he served practically two years in jail to be its head coach on Tuesday, sources briefed on the scenario advised The Athletic.
The transfer was not instantly introduced by the college, however Vick’s former highschool coach and longtime mentor Tommy Reamon advised The Athletic he has been advising Vick on a training profession and plans to hitch his workers at Norfolk State.
“I’m so excited for him to do that as a result of I believe he’ll be an awesome coach,” Reamon stated. “He’s so personable, and he’s charismatic. You’ve gotta be charismatic (to educate) in 2024, and that’s why he’s gonna win. I’m excited to look at him as he communicates with the youngsters.”
The Virginian-Pilot first reported the hiring. Vick advised the newspaper: “I understand how to guide and I do know what it takes.”
The hiring echoes comparable strikes by different HBCUs lately, handing their soccer applications over to high-profile former NFL stars. Most notably, Deion Sanders began his faculty teaching profession at Jackson State earlier than leaping to Colorado after three seasons on the SWAC college. Eddie George, the previous Ohio State Heisman Trophy winner and Tennessee Titans star, is in his fourth season as head coach at Tennessee State.
“I wager he and I’ve talked about Deion’s scenario, and him 100 occasions,” Reamon stated. “Those two youngsters (Vick and Sanders) are good examples of taking their expertise, with all that charisma, to then turn out to be a head coach soccer at this time.”
“Michael has the voice. People are gonna relate to him particularly once we get in these homes.”
Vick will exchange Dawson Odums, who was 15-31 in 4 seasons with Norfolk State.
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Vick, 44, grew up in Newport News, Va., about 25 miles north of Norfolk, and went to Virginia Tech, the place he led the Hokies to the nationwide title sport towards Florida State after the 1999 season as one of the vital dynamic dual-threat quarterbacks in faculty soccer historical past. Vick performed two thrilling seasons at Virginia Tech, ending third within the Heisman voting as a redshirt freshman in 1999.
“He got here and talked to our staff at South Carolina in August of 2021 and I knew then that he had a ardour for presumably teaching,” stated Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer, who has been mates with Vick since 1998 and whose father, Frank, coached Vick at Virginia Tech. “I’m actually excited for him and I do know he’ll crush it at Norfolk State.”
Vick was chosen to the College Football Hall of Fame in January.
He jumped to the NFL after three years in Blacksburg and have become the No. 1 general choose for the Atlanta Falcons in 2001. Vick’s NFL profession took off in 2004 when he led the Falcons to the NFC championship sport. In 2006, he turned the primary quarterback in NFL historical past to hurry for 1,000 yards in a season.
At the peak of his stardom and peak of his bodily efficiency, Vick’s downfall was surprising. In 2007, Vick pleaded responsible to being concerned in a canine combating ring at a property he owned in rural Virginia and was sentenced to almost two years in jail. He additionally needed to pay again components of his multimillion-dollar contract with the Falcons.
Vick was launched from jail in 2009 and pledged to make use of his demise as a lesson for others. His return to the NFL with Philadelphia drew protests, however he went on to play seven extra seasons within the league, changing into a starter for the Eagles from 2010-12.
“That is the script. I used to be watching all of that, and I’ve seen him develop,” Reamon stated. “He has executed so many issues to get out of the holes that he had dug for himself.”
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(Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
