Michael Vick, one of the most spectacular players in NFL history, will now try to sprinkle some of his magic in his home state.
Vick has been hired as the new head coach of Norfolk State University, according to the Virginian Pilot. Norfolk is about 100 miles southeast of Richmond, Va., not far from where the 44-year-old was born and raised in Newport News.
Vick has hinted at coaching before
“I think my heart is really into teaching, you know, the game of football,” Vick told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on a 2017 podcast. “I feel like I’ve learned so much from so many great coaches over the years. You know, I don’t want to bottle up a lot of knowledge, and (I) really can’t relay the messages that I want to relay to a high school kid because … you don’t have to dumb it down, but you can’t be as complex. And I get that.
“So (at the) collegiate level or professional level, you can express ideas. You can go into detail. You know you can coach hard, and that’s what I want to do.”
A Peninsula District star at Ferguson and Warwick high schools, Vick led Virginia Tech to an undefeated regular season in 1999 and the national championship game as a redshirt freshman. That Sugar Bowl setback to Florida State was Vick’s only loss as a starter in two seasons with the Hokies.
The Atlanta Falcons selected Vick with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2001 NFL draft. He also played for the Eagles, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers.
