Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson both made their college coaching debuts on Thursday, with mixed results at best.
The former Philadelphia Eagles teammates were both hired as head coaches last winter despite possessing little coaching experience, part of a trend credited to the rise of Deion Sanders. Vick took over the headset for Norfolk State, not far from his hometown of Newport News, Virginia, while Jackson became the decision-maker at Delaware State. Both are FCS programs.
Neither of their season openers went well. Norfolk State got blown out by Towson 27-7, while Delaware State lost 35-17 to in-state rival Delaware.
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Vick's program struggled heavily on offense, not scoring until the fourth quarter and totaling only 39 rushing yards on 31 attempts. The team also committed nine penalties for 78 yards. Their pass offense was productive, but that'll happen when you're playing from behind the entire night.
Jackson's Hornets, meanwhile, faced a Delaware team that had just made the jump to FBS and kept them scoreless for nearly two quarters, but the dam broke before halftime. The Blue Hens scored on four of their final five drives to pull away.
Jackson praised his team's effort after the game, via Delaware Online:
"We played with a lot of intensity," Jackson said. "Could have been a little more disciplined. We left a lot of points out on the field.
"But I'm proud of my team. I talk about the little things all the time and I feel like the little things got us today. We'll go back and watch the film but great effort out there by the guys."
Obviously, it's hard to judge either coach off one loss, especially when both schools made an unorthodox hire for a reason. Delaware State went 2-21 in two seasons under its previous head coach, while Norfolk State officially has one winning season since 2007. Building a program can take time, though some might have expected quicker results given the immediate success of Deion Sanders, who was hired by Jackson State under similar circumstances in 2020. He was then hired by Colorado in 2023.
Before their hires, Vick had only worked as an intern for the Kansas City Chiefs under Andy Reid and as offensive coordinator for an Alliance of American Football team. Jackson had completed one year as the offensive coordinator for Woodrow Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach, California.
In a fun idea, the two coaches' programs will meet at their old stomping grounds, the Eagles' Lincoln Financial Field, on Oct. 30.
NFL stars turned head coaches have increasingly become a trend in college football. Sanders was the trend-setter, and there's also Tennessee State's hire of Eddie George in 2021 and UAB's hire of Trent Dilfer in 2022. George moved to Bowling Green after a 9-4 season with the Tigers last year and he opened his tenure as well on Thursday with a 26-7 win over Lafayette.
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