Former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was officially welcomed as Norfolk State University’s head football coach Monday with a jersey bearing his name and the number seven, which Vick debuted in Atlanta and wore throughout his playing career here.
Norfolk State leaders said they expected Vick to be as transformative of a coach as he was a player.
“In the Bible, seven is a number of completion,” said Bishop Kim Brown, head of the university’s Board of Visitors. “Today, we formally welcome number seven to the athletic team and believe he is a completing piece of our pursuit for excellence.”
Vick and college officials reached a deal last week for him to coach at the HBCU in Norfolk, Va. His hire as the college’s 19th head coach was formally approved Friday. He replaces Dawson Odums, who was fired in November after the Spartans went 4-8 this season.
This is Vick’s first coaching job but marks a return to his hometown community. He grew up in nearby Newport News and said going to Norfolk State football games on the weekend drove his desire to play at the collegiate level.
He became a star player at Virginia Tech and was the NFL’s No. 1 overall pick by the Falcons in 2001. Vick played for Atlanta until 2008, following a 2007 arrest and prison sentence for federal felony dog fighting conspiracy charges. After his prison sentence, he played for the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers before retiring.
Most recently, he’s worked as an NFL analyst for Fox.
Norfolk State President Javaune Adams-Gaston described Vick as “magic.”
“I predict he will be the number one coach in America,” she said.
In addition to the jersey, Vick was given a green and gold letterman jacket embroidered with “Coach Vick” and he took questions with a coach’s whistle around his neck. He blew it on himself at Monday’s news conference once after accidentally cursing while answering a question.
Vick opened his remarks by leading the crowd in a chant of Norfolk State’s slogan, “Behold the Green and Gold.”
“Gonna get used to saying that with authority,” he said.
He said he would hold players accountable but wanted the Norfolk State community to hold him accountable as a coach, too.
“You see the future in me, and I see the future in myself,” he said. “And I hope the young men we serve see the future in themselves.”
Vick said it was a “full-circle moment” getting to coach near his hometown. He said he’s wanted to coach for a while now and was looking for the right opportunity. There’s more pressure working in your hometown, he said, but it’s the kind of pressure he thrives on.
“I’d rather do it in front of the people I love than any other place,” Vick said.
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