Michael Vick is a football legend, but not what Sac State needs to be successful | Opinion
We are fully into the wackiest time of college football: hiring coaches season.
The sports rumor mill began to churn as word began to swirl that the NFL’s all-time leader in rushing yards for a quarterback could make his coaching debut with the Sacramento State Hornets.
NFL legend Michael Vick becoming the next head coach for the Sacramento State Hornet football might be the headline that the institution wants.
Back when he played, Vick transcended the game and changed how people viewed the quarterback position with his breathtakingly awesome scrambling ability.
On Monday, Sac State quickly debunked any speculation that Vick would be the next head coach, but then sources said that actually, they are in talks with him.
Athletic Director Mark Orr also told the Bee that he wants to find someone to fill the vacant position by Christmas, which is a little more than a week away.
And sure, why not go after Vick? It would be a curiosity to have a national name as the coach. Maybe it could fill the old stadium the Hornets play in or the new one they hope to build. Who’s to say that ESPN’s popular show College Gameday won’t decide to make a stop in Sac because of the hype that would follow?
The Hornets should be warned that hiring someone based on previous prestige has not gone well for every institution.
Don’t let the name fool ya
I was there for the hype train when former Tennessee Titan and Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George became the head coach of the Tennessee State University (TSU) Football team in 2021. In four seasons, George’s record with the Tigers is a mediocre 24-22 with one appearance in this year’s FCS tournament, which they lost. The supporters of TSU had nostalgia glasses and only cared that a former football star wanted to coach there. Sure George has grown as a coach but growth is slow and no institution should willingly put themselves through years of growing pains
Vick is similar to George when he started in that he lacks the basic experience to be a head coach of a football team. He does deserve a shot to be a head coach somewhere but not at Sacramento State.
To Vick’s credit, he would be a great mentor to young athletes and help them not make the same mistakes he did. (Vick spent nearly two years in federal prison for his involvement in a dog fighting ring. He was paroled in 2009 and made it back to the NFL. )
I’m sure that Vick will find a job somewhere and put his leadership to the test, but Sacramento State doesn’t need to be in the market for an unproven leader. They need someone with proven knowledge of the college football system and who will come in and win football games. The Hornets were 3-9 last season and a dismal 1-7 in a Big Sky Conference they had dominated as co-conference champions in 2019 and 2022. They won the conference outright in 2021 with an 8-0 conference record. To say the program regressed last season is an understatement. Now they are without a head coach during prime recruiting season at the same time Sac State wants to jump to a bigger conference and build a new stadium. This job hire has to be a success.
A lot is riding on Sac State football
College Football has entered a new era of NIL (name image and likeness) deals, giving schools an even playing field to recruit players out of high school. There’s also the transfer portal which has been transformed into the equivalent of NFL Free Agency.
The point is, that the room for excuses is shrinking in college football. Just this year we saw Indiana and Southern Methodist University, two schools normally outside of the college football elite, win ten games. SMU is in the college football playoffs.
There is a lot of excitement surrounding Sacramento State athletics, but the key to them going to the new Pac-12 or Mountain West conference is having a legitimate football team. Hiring an inexperienced coach isn’t gonna get them the invite.
Sac State can try to debunk the rumors all they want, but what if Vick becomes he next Hornets coach?
If that is the case, Sac State athletics will have chosen hype, which college football has in droves but very rarely turns into success.
