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Ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers Wild Card playoff matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, Mike Tomlin gave his thoughts on the hire of Michael Vick. Vick, who was hired to be the next head coach of Norfolk State University, has received much fanfare for his move. Tomlin is the latest high-profile coach to show his support for Vick in his new endeavor.
In a statement released by Norfolk State, Tomlin said, “I am so excited for Mike Vick, and I am so excited for Norfolk State and the 757 community as a whole. I'm highly familiar with the circumstances, I'm highly familiar obviously, with Mike as a man. I just think you've got a guy that cares about people, a quality human being, and certainly a guy that cares about that community, and so what better leader to put into that circumstance? I'm rooting for that group and can't wait to see the exciting work that happens with Norfolk State football.”
Michael Vick played under Tomlin in the last stop of his playing career. During an appearance on the Kickin' It With Dee podcast, Vick was very complimentary of Tomlin and how he helmed the Steelers.
“And yeah man, just the whole experience of playing for Mike T, the coolest part was our Monday meetings, when Mike T come in and you see him at the podium, and you get that little snippet of entertainment.”
“Just the way he delivered to the players creates a culture, creates a mindset, he breaks it down so it's so understandable that you understand why he's saying what he saying,” he added.
Now, Vick looks to establish his own winning culture with Norfolk State. The Virginia native takes the helm of a Spartans program that has struggled since moving to the FCS in 1997. Since joining the MEAC that same year, the Spartans have only had five winning seasons. In 2016, the NCAA stripped Norfolk State of all its wins from 2009-2011, including the 2011 MEAC title, after the program failed to oversee its eligibility certification process properly.
As a result, Norfolk State has only enjoyed two winning seasons since 1997: 2007 under Pete Adrian (8-3) and 2021 under Dawson Odoms (6-5). In November, Odoms was relieved of his duties at Norfolk State following a 4-8 overall record and 2-3 record in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
He's already started the work to build a perineal FCS contender, even landing former Kennesaw State dual-threat quarterback James Woods III from the transfer portal.
