North Carolina made headlines last week by hiring legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick to succeed Mack Brown despite having zero coaching experience at the college level. Days after the Tar Heels made the stunning hire, Norfolk State tabbed Commonwealth State legend and former NFL Pro Bowl quarterback Michael Vick as its new coach.
Norfolk State is an HBCU program of the FCS classification. The Spartans went 4-8 a year ago.
Belichick has over 50 years of experience coaching in the NFL, while Vick has yet to coach in any capacity during his post-playing career. Vick was hired by the Atlanta Legends of the Alliance of American Football in 2019 as offensive coordinator but resigned before coaching a game due to other commitments.
Vick and Belichick being hired as first-time coaches at the college level isn't a new trend. Most notably, Jackson State hired Deion Sanders in 2020 to lead its program after his only experience in the coaching world was as a high school coach. Sanders spent two seasons at Jackson State before making the jump to Colorado in 2022.
While Sanders' hire has been viewed as a massive success, some hires fell short or never materialized. In 2022, Bethune-Cookman hired former NFL star safety Ed Reed after he previously served as Miami's "Chief of Staff" and as a senior football advisor for the program. Just over three weeks after Reed's hiring, the school announced it would not finalize his contract.
With Vick and Belichick both set to become first-time college coaches this season, here are some recent examples of programs that took a similar path to landing their next coach.
Michael Vick, Norfolk State (2024)
Vick will return to his home state of Virginia to coach for the first time. Vick was hired by the Atlanta Legends of the Alliance of American Football in 2019 as offensive coordinator but resigned before coaching a game due to other commitments. He ended up serving as an adviser for the organization for one season. Vick has indicated that he would assemble a staff of experienced coaching veterans to help him build the program.
Bill Belichick, North Carolina (2024)
Belichick is the most notable name on this list. The longtime New England Patriots is regarded as arguably the greatest coach in NFL history. The only thing he hadn't done (until taking the vacant job at North Carolina) was coach in college. Belichick took a year away from the game before replacing legendary coach Mack Brown in Chapel Hill. Belichick faces an uphill climb to succeed in the modern name, image and likeness landscape that has completely transformed college football over the last decade.
Trent Dilfer, UAB (2023)
The former Super Bowl-winning quarterback was the coach at Lipscomb Academy in Tennessee from 2019-22 before taking the job at UAB. Dilfer guided Lipscomb Academy to a 44-10 record — including a perfect 13-0 season in his final year as a high school coach. Dilfer has gone just 7-17 in his first two seasons as the head man at UAB.
Eddie George, Tennessee State (2021)
The former Ohio State star running back spent nine seasons in the NFL before landing his first job as a college coach seven years later. George was hired to take over FCS Tennessee State in 2021 and has gone 24-22 in his first four seasons. Tennessee State finished the 2024 campaign 2024 and reached the FCS Playoffs for the first time in his tenure.
Deion Sanders, Jackson State (2020)
Before Sanders took over the Colorado program in 2022, he landed his first college coaching gig at FCS Jackson State. Sanders did have experience as a high school before taking the job at Jackson State and coached most recently at Trinty Christian School in Cedar, Texas, as the offensive coordinator. Sanders went 27-6 at Jackson State and has complied a 13-11 record during his first two seasons at Colorado.
Tony Sanchez, UNLV (2015)
Sanchez was the coach at powerhouse Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas for six seasons before being hired by UNLV in 2015. Sanchez spent five seasons with the UNLV program and went 20-40 during his tenure. Sanchez is currently the coach at New Mexico State.
Jim L. Mora, UCLA (2012)
Mora had plenty of experience as an NFL coach before he jumped ship to the college game in 2012. He worked as a DB coach for the (then) San Diego Chargers, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers before landing his first job as an NFL head coach with the Atlanta Falcons in 2004. Mora became UCLA's coach in 2012 and spent six seasons with the program. He's currently the coach at UConn.
Todd Dodge, North Texas (2007)
The longtime Texas high school football coach was hired by North Texas in 2007 after blistering success at Southlake Carroll where he coached Chase Daniel and Greg McElroy. Dodge spent four seasons with the program and compiled a 6-37 record before being fired midway through the 2010 season. Dodge spent the 2011 season as Pitt's quarterback coach before returning to the high school coaching ranks, where he got back to winning state championships and tutored Sam Ehilnger and then Cade Klubnik at Austin Westlake.
