Michael Vick's college coaching interest has sky-high potential for success or failure
Michael Vick has been in talks with two separate football programs about becoming their head coach, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Schefter reported that Vick, the former superstar quarterback, is in talks with Sacramento State about its head coaching job, while David Teal and Michael Sauls of the Virginian Pilot reported Vick had been talking to Norfolk State about their job as well.
Vick is a fascinating candidate for both jobs for drastically different reasons, but he also carries a considerable amount of risk.
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Norfolk State are hardly an FCS powerhouse; the HBCU has had just two winning seasons since 2005, and tend to finish in the bottom half of the MEAC standings.
On the other hand, Sacramento State are in the midst of scaling their football program up. They just had their worst season in several years, going 3-9, but are preparing to make the jump to the FBS level, and have claimed $50 million in NIL commitments from boosters going forward.
However, as The Athletic's Ric Sanchez pointed out, having commitments doesn't mean they actually have that money, and doesn't mean any of it can be spent.
The biggest potential issue with Vick is that he has no head coaching experience, or coaching experience at all, at any level. No college, no pro, no high school coaching.
That makes Vick an incredibly risky proposition as a head football coach; typically, coaches without some kind of coaching experience at any collegiate level tend not to work out terribly well. Just look at how Trent Dilfer's tenure has gone at UAB.
There is precedence for success, though: Eddie George. The Tennessee State head coach took a few seasons to get rolling, but after going 5-6 and 4-7 in his first two campaigns, has guided the Tigers to back-to-back winning seasons and an FCS playoff berth this year.
Of the two jobs, Norfolk would likely give Vick the most time to find his sea legs, but likely lacks the resources to build a true, perennial contender.
Sacramento State, on the other hand, has a proven history of recent success, and the resources to surround Vick with experienced coaches who can help him learn the ropes faster, but also have significantly more to lose if things go poorly.
With the Hornets preparing to make the transition to FBS, they're at a crucial juncture in their program's history. While expecting to make the jump as successfully as James Madison did may be too much to ask, I suspect Vick would have significantly less time to find his stride in that transitional period than he would at Norfolk. If things go catastrophically after the jump (and, to be clear, they very easily could under any head coach, not just Vick), Vick could find himself hunting for a job very quickly, and Sacramento State could find themselves back on the coaching market.
That said, few former players have Vick's unique name cachet; he remains an almost mythological figure in the sport, a true dynamic playmaking force with stellar gifts and decision making, who saw the field in unique ways that no one else in his era did. If he can bring that unique vision to bear as a coach, he has the potential for significant success.
Ultimately, it's fitting that Vick's coaching career will begin in much the same way his playing career went: no matter what happens, it's going to be fascinating to watch.
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