Former NFL star Michael Vick was reportedly up for two college football head coaching jobs this week.
He landed one of them.
The Fox NFL Kickoff analyst agreed to become the next head coach of the Norfolk State Spartans football team on Tuesday, per The Virginian-Pilot’s David Teel and Michael Sauls. An introductory news conference is expected to take part within a week.
Vick replaces Dawson Odums, who was fired last month after four seasons in which the Spartans went 15-30
Vick and NSU agreed to contract terms Tuesday, multiple sources said, with an introductory news conference expected within a week. He replaces Dawson Odums, whom the Spartans dismissed last month after a four-season run in which the FCS program went 15-30 while playing in the MEAC.
A Newport News native and Virginia Tech phenom, the 44-year-old Vick has never coached. Per The Pilot, he has already reached out to potential assistants and staff, noting “some of his hires likely will be familiar to fans.”
The four-time Pro Bowler played in the NFL for 13 seasons, with a gap in the middle after pleading guilty to his involvement in a dog fighting ring and spending 21 months in federal prison. He briefly served as an intern on Andy Reid’s staff with the Kansas City Chiefs. The former Atlanta Falcons star was initially set to be the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Legends of the Alliance of American Football but that role didn’t materialize.
Since 2017, he has been an NFL analyst for Fox Sports.
“I didn’t think I ever wanted to coach,” said Vick via USA Today in 2018. “But in some ways, I feel like I’d be cheating myself by (not coaching). Talking about the game at Fox, I get excited like I’m out there playing again. But it’s still not touching individuals (directly). When (the Alliance) opportunity came about, I felt like I could really make a difference and give back to the game. …Once I found out it was in Atlanta, I thought it was a home run.”
News of Norfolk State’s interest in Vick emerged on Monday. Afterward, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Sacramento State was also in talks to hire Vick, though that report was met with pushback on several fronts and led to a war of words with Doug Gottlieb.
No word on whether or not Vick will finish out the NFL season with Fox Sports, or if he will continue to have a role in the media world as several recent coaching hires have been doing.
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