"Nor folking way" — CFB world reacts to $22 million worth Michael Vick's potential college football coaching move
Michael Vick might be following in the footsteps of Deion Sanders, heading to college football as the head coach of an HBCU program. According to reports, the former quarterback and Fox NFL analyst is in talks to become the head coach at Norfolk State.
Vick, worth $22 million according to Forbes, doesn't have experience coaching at high school or college but he was a college football legend as a quarterback at Virginia Tech.
There are also conflicting reports regarding Sacramento State also talking to Michael Vick. While some reports claim the team is considering the former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, others claim the university has shot down those rumors. There is no official word from the school yet.
After Yahoo! Sports posted the report on their X account on December 16, some fans reacted surprised by the news.
"Nor folking way," one fan said.
"That would be cool," another fan wrote.
"Major. Soon we’ll see Vick coaching at a big 4 university," one fan said.
"That’s cool! Get your Coaching Resume up!," a fan added.
Other fans preferred to wish good luck to the former quarterback in this possible new venture.
"Love this! Wish him all the success in the world!," a fan said.
"LET'S GO! BEHOLD THE GREEN AND GOLD!! @MichaelVick," another fan added.
Michael Vick would have a tough task at Norfolk State
The former quarterback replaces Dawson Odums, who had a 15-31 record over four seasons with Norfolk State. Since joining the FCS in 1997, the Spartans have had only five winning seasons, the last in 2021 with a 6-5 record. Off the field, the team faced setbacks, vacating all wins from 2009-2011 due to 48 ineligible players.
In two seasons at Virginia Tech, Michael Vick passed for 3,074 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Running the football, Vick added 1,202 yards and 16 scores.
Vick was selected first overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2001 NFL Draft and enjoyed a 13-year NFL career. After retiring in 2017 Michael Vick has mostly been an NFL media analyst.
While it is not unprecedented to have a college head coach with no prior high school or college coaching experience it isn't common.
One difference between Vick and Deion Sanders is that the Colorado Buffaloes' head coach had some high school coaching experience.
While Deion Sanders is the best-known former player who came into college coaching with an HBCU, others have taken the same route. Eddie George (Tennessee State) and Ed Reed (Bethune-Cookman) are other notable names.