Michael Vick says he will be the new head football coach at Norfolk State University

Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick says he has accepted a head coaching position at Norfolk State University in Virginia.

“It’s an honor to announce that I’ll be the new head coach of Norfolk State University…looking forward to coming back home,” he said Tuesday on Facebook.

Vick is a native of Newport News, Virginia, about 30 miles north of Norfolk.

University officials did not confirm the deal Tuesday night, but the Virginian-Pilot, a newspaper between Norfolk and Newport News, reported that multiple sources said an introductory news conference would be held within a week.

Vick played college football at Virginia Tech, where as a redshirt freshman he led the school to the college national title game, where his team lost to Florida State. In 2001, Vick became the first Black quarterback to be drafted to the NFL first overall, when he was selected by the Atlanta Falcons.

He spent six seasons there, in which he was selected to the Pro Bowl three times and led his team to the NFC Championship game in 2004, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles. His playing days were temporarily derailed beginning in 2007 when he served nearly two years of jail time for dogfighting.

But upon his release in 2009, he went on to play five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, where in 2010 he achieved a fourth Pro Bowl selection and won Comeback Player of the Year. He later spent one season each with the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Over the course of his NFL career, he accumulated about 28,000 total yards and 169 touchdowns. He retired in 2017, holding the all-time record for quarterback rushing yards, with about 6,100.

He has since become an animal activist and an analyst for Fox Sports.

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