Michael Vick Confesses How Going Against Late Grandma Was the Only Way to Turn His Career Around

“I want to apologize to the court, my family, and to all the kids who looked up to me as a role model.” This was the moment when Michael Vick realized what he had done. Amidst millions of eyeballs and a scathingly long media trial, Vick stood almost lifeless in the courtroom as the Judge pronounced him guilty for the dogfight scandal which would follow 23 months for him in the prison. On the very first day at the Leavenworth Penitentiary, he made a list. Three things he wanted to accomplish– make it home; see my grandmother again; and return to the Atlanta Falcons as their starting quarterback. But just as clearly as he remembers the day he made this list – November 19, 2007 – he also remembers the day he truly hit rock bottom– April 26, 2008. 

At Leavenworth, there was this rule, every inmate would get a set number of phone minutes a month. But if you save them, and get lucky, you can have a longer call than 10 minutes. And that’s what Vick did. A solid 15-minute call to wish his mother on her birthday. However, the call did not go the way he imagined. It was “The day my mom had a birthday, and my grandma had a stroke. The day the Falcons drafted Matt Ryan, quarterback out of Boston College. The day I lost Atlanta.” The Falcons canceled their contract long before and his grandmother passed away a week later due to a stroke. That was the day Michael Vick’s world truly came crashing down. But that’s when things changed.

Everything for him drowned in a moment of lapse before this. 23 months after Vick’s conviction in December 2007, the QB had nowhere to turn. No NFL team wanted him probably because of the conviction, but also because doubts about his performances after the long gap. But this is where the Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach, Andy Reid, came into the picture and gave Vick a chance for redemption in the 2009 season. But the journey at Eagles was going to be even more difficult. For starters, the team signed just a single-year deal with Vick, with plans to put him in backup behind Kevin Kolb and the Eagles legend Donovan McNabb. But this is where things get interesting. McNabb was traded to Washington in 2010, and Kevin Kolb? Well, Kolb was the apparent successor of the QB1 spot, until a tragedy hit.

Just 22 minutes into the Eagles’ 2010 season opener against the Green Bay Packers, Kevin Kolb dropped back on a 3rd and 14 when Clay Matthews slammed him to the turf, leaving him with a concussion, ruling him out. But Vick? Well, he latched on to the opportunity like he was fighting for his life… Because he was. In a recent interview on ‘ARENASPHERE’ with Gilbert Arenas, Vick describes the game against Washington, and how it might have hurt his grandma, who he told, as a 6-year-old, “I was born to do it.” 

“First of all, that was my grandmother’s favorite team. When I was in prison, she passed away. You know, I used to always tell her when I was a kid, like, ‘I’m never going to lose to Washington. I’m never going to lose to them, I don’t care what happened. I’m not gonna lose to them.’ Just remember that day ’cause this was my first time playing them ever (since) she passed away. And Donovan had got a big contract just before the game.

“All these things building up in my mind and I’m like, so on the sideline, I’m like, ‘Hey grandma’ like I’m looking in the sky like, ‘Grandma, I hate to go do this, but it’s about to go down tonight.’ First play from some scrimmages and I’m like ‘I got to hurt him, hit him with the bomb. And then it started to rain a little bit as soon as that happened, it started to rain. That day I just felt a sense of calm. Just whole time in the whole game, I’m just thinking about my grandma like, ‘Yo, Grandma, I ain’t it. I’m annihilating them tonight. Like I’m killing them tonight. Like this, going to be the worst beating ever.'”

Guess what? Vick stayed true to his words and produced one of the most iconic performances in NFL history. He proved “I was born to do it.” And Kolb? Well, after that Washington game, the guy never saw those snaps too much and was later traded to the Arizona Cardinals.

Top Comment by Victor

Great store a real hero to the «Underdogs»????????????

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The game against Washington might be the game where even God wanted Michael Vick to have his redemption. The heavens opened, and rain started to fall as Vick soaked in sweat and rain, donning that iconic number 7 jersey, ran riot over the Redskins (now Commanders).

London Fletcher and LaRon Landry didn’t know what hit them as Vick cut passes through the defense like a hot knife through butter. The score read 59-28, and Vick? Finished with 333 passing yards, 80 rushing yards, and earned a 150+ passer rating. From then on, the skies truly opened for Vick as he earned a $100 million contract, became the primary QB for the Eagles, and went on to become one of the legends of the game. Now, he continues to show young talents how willpower can truly change the tides for good.

Michael Vick promises Norfolk State fans of big things to come

Now, Michael Vick has come to college football as the head coach of Norfolk State. The program, one of the largest HBCUs in America, will benefit from the experience and legacy of the legendary NFL baller as he looks to rejuvenate a team coming off 5 consecutive head coaches with losing records. But Vick has made the job’s demands clear.

“I’m trying to establish a program that 10 years from now, the culture remains the same. And the standard remains the same. It’s about the chemistry that we create, it’s about the camaraderie, the togetherness. We all have to be as one, and that’s the message we preach”. With this, Vick proclaimed Norfolk State to be a winning program in 2025 and said, “That’s it. We’re gonna win games.”

The former Eagles legend, ever since arriving in the program, has focused on roping in sustainable prospects without the heavy use of NIL money. His early successes in transfers like OL Guan Price II and Israel Carter are just a glimpse into what the program can achieve. Moreover, in terms of coaching appointments, Terence Garvin, the former NFL linebacker, and Elton Brown, being the OC, sure look exciting for the program going ahead. Can we see another redemption arc for Michael Vick with Norfolk State?