The next chapter of Michael Vick’s life has brought him back to where it all began. In 2024, the NFL icon stepped away from the analyst booth and on to the field again, but this time in a different capacity; as he now stands as the head coach of Norfolk State University. His return to Virginia comes after decades spent building a career at the highest level of football, and now, he is applying those lessons in real time as he works to reshape a program searching for direction.
Vick’s journey was captured in BET’s docuseries, The Coach Vick Experience, which premiered earlier this year. Produced by SMAC Entertainment, the series follows Vick as he navigates the demands of coaching while reconnecting with a community that helped shape him. While the opportunity to lead a program so close to home has been a blessing, the transition didn’t come without its challenges. “Being a rookie head coach and stepping into a situation I never been into for the first time, it was a little nerve wracking,” Vick admits. “You just don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, but you do know that you want to do it and you want to get better at it.”
At Norfolk State, Vick is focused on building something that extends beyond wins and losses. He speaks openly about the responsibility he feels toward his players, emphasizing growth in the classroom as much as on the field. “We’re student athletes—don’t ever get it twisted,” he says. “Football is just what got you here, but what’s going to take you further is your mind.”
As Vick settles into this new role, he is learning to balance expectation with patience, leaning on experience while embracing the process ahead. What emerges is a portrait of a man still evolving, now tasked with guiding others through their own paths. In the conversation that follows, Vick opens up about returning home, leading a team, and what this moment means for his future.
ESSENCE: How did it feel to return to Virginia after 25 years to Coach Norfolk State University?
Michael Vick: It feels good. And I tell you what, it’s growing on me each and every day. Being a rookie head coach and stepping into a situation I never been into for the first time, it was a little nerve wracking. You just don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, but you do know that you want to do it and you want to get better at it. And I feel like in anything in life, if you want to be good at it, you want to be great at it, you got to work at it. There’s no way around it. So to be able to come and do it at home at a school where I supported as a kid, I came and watched games with the Boys and Girls Club—we were actually the Boys and Girls Club Spartans, our colors were green and gold. And so to be able to be the head coach, it’s a different stadium, it’s just a surreal moment. It also tells me how blessed I am.
With this being your first time leading the program as head coach, what has been the biggest lesson that you’ve learned about yourself during this transition?
That success doesn’t happen overnight. And just from where I’ve come from, whether it’s Pop Warner, high school, college and the pros, it was no pattern to success that happened immediately. It was all a work in progress. It all happened over time. It all took time. And so for me to be able to experience this now and know the process and trust the process is how I look at it now. We tell our players, “trust what we tell you, trust the process.” And I have to do the same thing—so it’s very exciting, it’s exciting to know that better days are here and you can see it. You just can’t attack it. You got to take it one day at a time. But I just look at it as, you know what? I’m going to take these eight hours that I’m in my office to grow and get better. And how can I continue to compound what we’re doing now?
It’s interesting that you bring up your players. I was watching The Coach Vick Experience, and a lot of your players are navigating challenges beyond the field as well. So how important is it for you to mentor them, not just as athletes, but as young men?
I always tell our young men, “we’re student athletes—don’t ever get it twisted. We’re not athlete students.” And sometimes, being honest, man, they look at it that way. I’m here to play football. No, you’re not. You’re here to get an education. Football is just what got you here, but what’s going to take you further is your mind and the education that’s going to come along with this full scholarship that you’re getting. Once they start to grasp that—sky’s the limit. Sometimes I have to be a hard nose, and be real direct and straightforward in terms of how they got to go about their 24 hours; sometimes I have to be real stern. I had to get on this morning, man. But they know I’m coming from the right place. They know I got genuine love for them. They know our relationships are growing every day and nothing’s going to come in between that. And obviously, I’m going to be so proud of them when it’s all said and done. I just can’t wait to see them work.
When did you know that you wanted to be a head coach?
I knew I wanted to be a head coach maybe two or three years ago, but I was still working there at Fox. I was enjoying that, still enjoying my craft and getting better as an analyst. But it was just always in my heart to have my own team one day. And it happened because I did so many football camps over the years and spent so much time with young men. I just always wished I could work with them every day instead of having a two-day camp Saturday, Sunday, and on Monday, you never see the kid again.
Yeah, that’s crazy.
I always felt like I wanted to spend Monday through Sunday with a particular player, or a group of players, and watch them grow throughout the duration of the season. And God blessed me way sooner than when I thought it was going to happen. So, I’m just adjusting each and every day, but getting better each and every day. And if you look at my desk, man, I got notes everywhere. You just have to store information.
A good coach should never have a clean desk. So you’re doing the right thing.
Absolutely. It’s a mess.
How has it been trying to change the culture at Norfolk State with this being your first year as coach?
First, you have to get to know the culture. What’s the culture already? What’s the boundaries that’s been set? What’s the bar that’s been set? And you have to come in and really be observant, learn, and listen. Then you go through a phase of where you start subtracting things. They might be used to getting out on the field at a certain time. If the practice starts at 8:00, they might get out on the field at 7:55. I’m like, “no, you got to be out there at 7:50, standard, non-negotiable.” And so these are things that are going to help them later on in life.
Frank Beamer always used to say to me, “Do things the right way.” In my mind now, it sticks, do things the right way. And so are you going to be perfect? No. Can you be somewhat perfect? Absolutely. So, let’s lean on that and try to take things away from this process that can take you a long way in life.
Are there any particular coaches or players that you leaned on that got advice for when you first got this role at Norfolk State?
Oh yeah, no doubt. Deion and Coach [Andy] Reed were guys that I leaned on the most. Coach Fran Brown who’s at Syracuse, he really helped me out. Coach Fran was instrumental in giving me advice and telling me what to do, listening to him and the way he talked and just really appreciating how they operate. And so now I’m trying to operate at the same level and trying to put ourselves in a position, trying to put myself in the same position that they put themselves in. But knowing that it took years and years of hard work to get there. So I can’t rush my process and I just got to hone in on my craft and try to be the best that I can be when it’s all said and done.
There’s already so much pressure being a rookie head coach. Why did you decide that you wanted to film and document it?
Because I thought I was going to win every game. [Laughs.] I mean, I was so confident coming in. But what happened was I had to take on so many situations and wear so many hats—it kind of took me away from football a little bit and I won’t let that happen this year because now I know how to navigate it. Now I know how to move and just put things in place that’s going to allow me to really coach and teach, especially on the offensive side of the ball. I mean, if I could have looked through a crystal ball and seen that we were going to go 1-11, I’d have been like, “Hell no, stop the cameras. This is not happening.” But when you’re optimistic and you believe in yourself and you believe in the players first and foremost, things like that happen. I believed in them and I believed in us.
We didn’t win the games that we thought we were going to win. And now we have a chance to come back and do it again, and it’s going to be sweeter this time around when we do get those wins. And when we continue to capture this content, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but it’s not going to stop.
Now, when people watch this docuseries, is there anything that you hope that they understand or learned about you that they didn’t necessarily know?
I hope people see my love and passion for the game of football. I really love the game. I didn’t just play football. And when your heart is in it, your emotions show and when you know you guys have the potential to be better than what they were or what they are, then sometimes those emotions spill over. And I just never wanted to be in a situation where I see more in the players than they see in themselves. That’ll hurt me more than anything. If I see more in them and they see in themselves, then what’s my reason for being a head coach? It’s my job to help them see all the things that they can become, all the things that they can do. And it might come with some tough love, man, but you know what, they’ll thank me later.