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Sixteen years ago,Michael Vick was at rock bottom. A courtroom. A conviction. A career in ruins. The headlines were brutal, and the silence from NFL front offices was even louder. No one wanted to touch the former Falcons star-not after what had come to light.
But then Andy Reid called.
Back in 2009, Reid was coaching the Eagles and looking for depth at quarterback. What he saw in Vick wasn't just potential-it was a person who needed a path back. So the Eagles offered a low-risk deal. Vick would be third-string behind Kevin Kolb and Donovan McNabb. That was the plan.
Of course, football rarely follows the plan.
Twenty-two minutes into the 2010 season opener, Kolb went down with a concussion. Vick stepped in. By season's end, he had over 3,000 ing yards, 21 total touchdowns, and the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. He wasn't just back-he was electric.
Mentorship That Outlived the Game
Fast forward to 2025, and Vick is now the head coach at Norfolk State. It's his first shot at running a program, and while the road to this moment hasn't been easy, he's crystal clear about one thing: the turnaround started with Andy Reid.
"I got the right mentors and right people in my life,"Vick said on The Blessed Code podcast this week. "You couldn't get me to agree to do nothing that was going to harm myself or my family."
He didn't say Reid's name outright, but he didn't have to. The foundation was obvious.
Reid, who's since won three Super Bowls with Kansas City, believed in Vick when belief was in short supply. He stood by him during media firestorms and corporate desertion. He even sent a congratulatory message last year when Vick got the Norfolk job: "Man, is that school lucky to have you... I love you and I know you're gonna do a great job," Reid said, per NBC Sports.
That message hit home for Vick-because Reid didn't just give him a roster spot. He gave him a blueprint.
From Redemption to Leadership
Norfolk State went 4-8 last season. The program hasn't been relevant on the national stage in a long time. But they just hired a head coach who's lived through the worst of it-and came out wiser.
Back in April, Vick told WAVY TV 10,"Andy helped me grow up as a man. I was 29 when I got to him-and that's really when I hit my prime, mentally."
Now Vick is focused on more than just Xs and Os. He's building a culture. He's teaching kids what it means to rebuild, to stay grounded, to take that second chance seriously.
He's coaching football, sure. But more than that, he's coaching life.