NORFOLK, Va. — As a first-time college coach, former NFL quarterback Michael Vick knew there would be a learning curve in his first season at Norfolk State.

After taking over the struggling FCS program in late December, Vick still had to close out the rest of the NFL season as a TV analyst at Fox Sports. Those responsibilities put Vick and his coaching staff even further behind in building a roster and trying to transform a team that has one winning season since 2011.

“I didn’t even have a kicker in the spring,” Vick told ESPN this past week. “I was worried about different positions, and being a first-year head coach, that was a mistake I made.”

Vick also realized his team was woefully thin at tight end.

“I made a living with tight ends,” Vick said. “Wanting to give guys a chance, I didn’t know what we had. We were so rushed. Moving forward, I can exhale.”

Vick, 45, has been trying to catch his breath since returning to the Tidewater region of Virginia, where he first electrified fans and impressed opponents as a high school quarterback who could both run and pass like few players before him.

Vick, who grew up 30 miles from the Norfolk State campus in Newport News, Virginia, dreamed of becoming a college coach. He never imagined it would be back in the 757 area code he helped make famous as a hotbed for elite athletes.

After a standout career at Warwick High School, Vick spent three seasons at Virginia Tech, leading the Hokies to the 1999 national championship game. He finished third in Heisman Trophy voting as a redshirt freshman.

“It means everything to be back home,” Vick said. “I’m still asking myself how I ended up here. I loved living in Florida, but home is home. My mom is here, my sister’s here, and I always try to be there for them and protect them. I just never knew that I would be able to come back and be a head coach.”

There’s no question Norfolk State is banking on Vick’s popularity to help transform its football program like other former NFL stars did at HBCUs, including Deion Sanders at Jackson State and Eddie George at Tennessee State.

Following its splash hire, Norfolk State nearly doubled the cost of football season tickets from $110 to $200. The school is encouraging fans to take shuttle buses or light-rail to games with capacity crowds expected at 30,000-seat William “Dick” Price Stadium, starting with the Aug. 28 opener against Towson.

In April, BET Media Group greenlit an all-access series that will document Vick’s homecoming. It will be produced by Michael Strahan’s SMAC Entertainment.

Norfolk State’s Oct. 30 game against Delaware State was moved to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, where Vick and new Hornets coach DeSean Jackson were Eagles teammates from 2009-13.

“As soon as he was hired, you felt the momentum change,” Norfolk State linebacker Daylan Long said. “People just want to be around the program now.”

Vick has some coaching experience. Upon retiring from the NFL, he worked as a coaching intern for the Kansas City Chiefs during training camp in 2017. Vick was offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Legends of the Alliance of American Football the next season and led teams in a handful of high school all-star games over the years. Norfolk State even approached Vick about working as its quarterbacks coach in the past.

Former Virginia Tech and NFL safety Aaron Rouse initially called Vick in December to gauge his interest in the Norfolk State job. Rouse, who grew up in Virginia Beach, represents the Hampton Roads area in the state’s 7th Senate District.

Vick spoke to Norfolk State athletics director Dr. Melody Webb about the job, then took a couple of weeks to weigh his options. Vick consulted with mentors and friends in the coaching profession, including Sanders, George, Syracuse‘s Fran Brown, Connecticut’s Jim Mora Jr. and Tommy Reamon, his high school coach.

Reamon, who also coached Vick’s younger brother, Marcus, and former NFL quarterback Aaron Brooks, died May 22. He was 73.

“My wife knew this is something I always wanted to do,” Vick said. “Thank God it’s here, as opposed to a school in Mississippi or Tennessee. It could have been anywhere other than here, and if that was the case, I probably wouldn’t be coaching.

“This was a very unique situation. I knew the background, I knew about the school. I knew the uphill battle and challenges.”

Long was walking out of his family’s home in Cincinnati when he saw a post about Vick’s hiring on social media. He went back into the house and screamed the news to his mother.

A new era begins with leadership, vision, and determination. Let’s get ready to rise together 💪#GoldStandard🔰 pic.twitter.com/EHz69PZn6G

— Norfolk State Football 🔰 (@NorfolkStateFB) December 24, 2024

“His name will never stop resonating,” Long said. “He’s a legend to all of us kids that grew up watching him play. He was an inspiration for a lot of us playing football. He made the game fun. We wanted to mimic him on the field.”

Vick inherited a program that has reached the playoffs only once since moving to the FCS in 1997. The Spartans won a MEAC championship in 2011, which was later vacated because of NCAA rules violations. Each of Vick’s previous five predecessors had losing records, including Dawson Odums, who was fired in November after going 15-31 in four seasons.

The Spartans were 4-8 in 2024.

“My vision was to implement change,” Vick said. “It’s all about elevation and it’s a one day at a time process. Things don’t happen overnight. I wanted to understand what happened in the past, what they felt could have been done better. And then you can kind of merge that with my direction.”

One of Vick’s conversations with Sanders resonated more than others. When Vick was asking the now-Colorado coach about travel, building a roster and other areas of running a program, Sanders offered him some advice: “Make it what you want it to be.”

“You believe in you,” Sanders told Vick. “You know you can do this. Make your team what you want it to be, not like my team or not like Fran’s team or not like Jim’s team or not like Eddie’s team. It’s your team.”

In his mind, Vick had gone through various scenarios of what he would need to do as a coach: What message do you send in your first team meeting? What culture are you trying to create? Which players need more discipline than others? What can be changed within the program that they didn’t have the year before?

“When Deion said it, it kind of registered with me,” Vick said. “I realized this program has got to be what I want. They’re not here every day to help me. They can only give me so much. When I’m asking for advice on things, I kind of know the answer but I just need to hear the confirmation.”

Long and quarterback Israel Carter described Vick as a “laid-back” coach who rarely raises his voice in practice.

“He takes a calm approach,” said DeMarcus McMillan, Norfolk State’s director of football operations. “Sometimes as a leader, if you have to raise your voice, that’s not effective, especially with the generation of kids we have these days. Raising your voice is not the approach he should take with them. I think the coaches around him raise their voices enough.”

Fundraising, especially in the age of revenue sharing and NIL, is among Vick’s most important responsibilities. Webb announced in June that “a portion of revenue from all athletic events, including ticket sales, will go directly to Spartan student-athletes.”

Norfolk State had about $22.4 million in revenue and $40.8 million in expenses in 2024, according to the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database. There’s plenty of work to do if Vick is going to turn the Spartans around.

Norfolk State is hoping Vick’s roots in the Tidewater area and his legacy as one of the greatest players in NFL history will help drive donations and NIL opportunities for his players.

“Some of them know they deserve it,” Vick said. “Some of them know they don’t. Some of them know they haven’t earned it yet. You just can’t give it out. You’ve got to earn it.”

Vick’s coaching staff is a mix of veterans, close confidants and former NFL players. McMillan, who oversees the day-to-day operations, was Vick’s backup quarterback in high school. He served in the U.S. Army for more than two decades, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Running backs coach Dre Kendrick was Vick’s teammate at Virginia Tech. Special teams coordinator Tory Woodbury was his roommate before the 2001 NFL draft, in which Vick was the No. 1 pick by the Atlanta Falcons.

Offensive coordinator Brian Sheppard is an 18-year coaching veteran who previously worked at Towson. Defensive coordinator Terence Garvin is a former NFL linebacker, and assistant head coach Darryl Bullock is a 36-year coaching veteran who won the 1986 national title as a player at Penn State.

The Spartans added 42 new players after Vick was hired, including 33 transfers. Carter was among the biggest ones. His godfather, former Nevada receiver Trevor Burkett, is one of Vick’s closest friends. Carter said he also considered UCLA, UCF and UTEP before choosing Norfolk State.

After playing in six games the past two seasons at USF, Carter is expected to be the Spartans’ starting quarterback. He didn’t know Vick personally, other than Vick being his go-to quarterback in video games.

“He just told me that he wants to win the MEAC and go to the Celebration Bowl,” Carter said. “Obviously, I want to get to the NFL. I know that he has resources and connections, especially him being a legend himself. I know he’ll get me there, and I’ll be just fine under his wing.”

Vick hopes he doesn’t have to rely on the transfer portal as much in future seasons. The Spartans have 60 players from Virginia; the Tidewater area figures to be a pipeline for players while Vick is in charge. Norfolk State has 10 players from Georgia, where Vick’s name still resonates.

“If you can’t get some guys when Michael Vick is your head coach, then you don’t need to be in this business,” Kendrick said. “That Michael Vick face card is strong.”

No excuses. Just work.#GoldStandard🔰 pic.twitter.com/cxuLTuQP5t

— Norfolk State Football 🔰 (@NorfolkStateFB) August 4, 2025

The Spartans were picked to finish fourth in the six-team MEAC in the league’s preseason poll. Long, running back Kevon King and receiver Kam’Ryn Thomas were among five first-team All-MEAC selections.

“We know where we’re ranked,” Vick said. “We know where we fall in the MEAC right now. They’re very conscious of where we stand and what people think, but it’s good motivation.”

George, who coached at Tennessee State for four seasons before leaving for Bowling Green in March, has no doubt Vick will turn the Spartans around.

“Mike’s going to be extremely successful,” George told the Virginia Pilot. “He has so much to offer these kids. He comes from the neighborhood. He understands it. The fact that he’s had setbacks in his career is well known, gives him instant credibility and vulnerability to connect with his kids in a deeper capacity.

“He’s been a winner at every level, and I have no doubt he’s going to be successful if he’s fully committed to it.”

Vick’s entire life story — he spent 21 months in federal prison and missed two NFL seasons after being convicted for his role in financing a dogfighting ring — strikes a chord with his players. He was released by the Falcons and was reinstated following his prison release, spending five seasons with the Eagles before finishing his career with the Jets and Steelers.

Vick has been open with his players about his past mistakes and his climb to get back to the NFL.

“The highs and lows of his life, it makes him who he is,” Woodbury said. “The kids understand what he’s been through. To be honest, I think we all take on the role of just protecting our head coach. We all know what happened. He paid his dues. People make mistakes and people bounce back.”

The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals criticized Vick’s hiring at Norfolk State. He has been an advocate for the humane treatment of animals and worked with animal rights groups since his release.

At the news conference in which Vick was introduced as the Spartans’ coach, Webb called his journey “one of resilience and redemption and unwavering commitment to growth.”

One of Vick’s talking points to his players has been a 23-hour rule: “Twenty-three hours in the day, they’re doing the right thing. You screw up in that last hour, that’s all they’re going to remember.”

“America is the land of second chances,” Kendrick said. “What happened to him, and the way he accepted responsibility and took care of everything he did, he’s a perfect example for these kids. It doesn’t matter if you make a mistake, it’s how you bounce back.

“God brought him out of his situation and put him here to help young men. What’s a better place than your hometown? I think him coming here brings a light.”