Michael Vick is finding out that coaching at an HBCU is a different kind of challenge. The former NFL superstar, now in his first year leading the Norfolk State University Spartans, has seen his team battle hard but fall short repeatedly.
Saturday’s 41-34 loss to rival Hampton University marked the fourth straight defeat for Vick’s squad, capping a brutal stretch that has tested both his patience and perspective.
After the game, Vick faced reporters wearing a blue Hampton hat—one of the most painful accessories a Spartan coach could imagine.
“I lost a bet with my wife, who is a Hampton alumni,” Michael Vick admitted with a pained grin. “So yeah, working through the kinks of everything right now.”
The gesture lightened the mood after a bitter HBCU rivalry loss, but it also underscored a truth: the early part of Vick’s coaching tenure has been filled with growing pains.
A Promising Start That Slipped Away
Michael Vick’s debut season as a HBCU head coach began with optimism. His team had 19k fans on a Thursday night opener against Towson and followed it up with a heart-thumping 34-31 overtime win against Virginia State in Week Two in the “Battle of The States.”
That win gave Michael Vick his first collegiate victory and seemed to signal a turnaround. But since then, the Spartans have stumbled in close fashion—falling 31-28 to Sacred Heart, 18-13 to Wagner, and now the seven-point heartbreaker at Hampton.
Against the Pirates, Norfolk State moved the ball effectively behind running back Xavion Evans, who carried 21 times for 93 yards and a touchdown. Yet, as Vick pointed out during the MEAC Football Coaches Call, turnovers and penalties remain the team’s undoing.
“It all boils down to the amount of penalties and the two turnovers,” Michael Vick said. “You take those two factors away, I think we get out of the stadium with a win… but unfortunately for us, we put ourselves in that position.”
The Spartans were flagged 17 times for 158 yards—numbers that erase offensive momentum and make comebacks nearly impossible.
Searching for Consistency and Control
Vick’s transition from quarterback to head coach means surrendering control of the action he once commanded. In the same MEAC call, he reflected on that difference.
“As a player, my coaches trusted me with the game plan,” he said. “Now, as a coach, I have to trust even more—that they understand the plan and that discipline is going to be primary.”
That trust has been tested through six games. The Spartans have committed 12 turnovers while forcing only five, a disparity that mirrors their 1-5 record. Still, Michael Vick insists the foundation is forming.
“It’s been a lot of good,” he said. “But it’s been a lot of penalties and turnovers. We can’t play football that way… when we do decide to play, we play a good brand of football.”
HBCU moves forward
The Battle of the Bay loss will sting, but Vick’s humility—and humor—show growth beyond the scoreboard. Wearing an HBCU rival’s hat might have been a friendly wager, yet it perfectly symbolized his first coaching months: humbling, instructive, and undeniably human.
Next up is a road trip to Wofford College, another chance for Michael Vick and his young team to align focus with execution. If the Spartans can turn their lessons into discipline, the losses—and the borrowed Hampton blue—might soon become part of a larger redemption story.