Michael Vick’s life has been nothing less than a rollercoaster. The former player has seen many ups and downs in his life. From the legal downfall to his return to the NFL as a football coach and from bankruptcy to millionaire status, Vick has seen it all.
Norfolk State HC Michael Vick Shares Emotional Attachment to His Whistle
As the 44-year-old took over as the head coach of Norfolk State University, which competes in the Division I FCS level of college football, Vick shares how he felt following the achievement. The former player opened up about how emotional he got after getting a personal gift from legendary coach Jimmy Johnson.
In a clip posted by the official account of the NFL on YouTube, Vick revealed, “The whistle. I got it from Jimmy Johnson. He presented it to me on the Fox set when the announcement was made.”
“That day, I cried so much, man. That whistle is like my comfort level, and I cried because it’s bittersweet.” The College Football Hall of Famer continued, “It was like a transformation, like this is no longer about the pen and what I present to the audience.”
“It’s about me being attached to this whistle and knowing what that whistle really meant. It officially made me a coach, I felt like. I was like, man, ‘I’m carrying this with me every day,’ in a football setting,” Vick shared.
Vick, who played as a quarterback in the NFL for 13 seasons, was announced as Norfolk’s head coach in December 2024. The four-time Pro Bowl selection and former No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick is the 19th head coach to manage the program.
At Virginia Tech, Vick led the program to the national championship game while he was in his redshirt freshman year. The former player was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2001 NFL Draft. With no prior experience in coaching, he is yet to be tested as a head coach. His team has reached only one playoff since the team moved to the FCS level in 1997.
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