PETA makes their stance clear as CFB world offers Michael Vick a new career

Michael Vick is following in the footsteps of some former NFL greats including Deion Sanders and Eddie George. Both started their coaching careers with head coaching jobs in college, and Vick is now doing the same thing. He was announced as the new head coach of Norfolk State on Wednesday. The school is roughly a half-hour away from Vick's hometown in Virginia.

The news has received a mixed reaction. Although Vick is often on TV these days, he has a controversial past. He was infamously arrested in 2007 for his role in running a dog fighting ring. He spent 21 months in federal prison as a result of the incident.

Although he served his federally mandated prison sentence, he is still not a popular figure. As a result, his appointment as the head coach of a college football team was not taken well.

Notably, the animal rights nonprofit group PETA was not happy about the signing. PETA president Ingrid Newkirk told Fix News Digital:

"After interviewing him at PETA’s office in Norfolk, Virginia while his sentence was under consideration, and hearing him tell me bold-faced lies about his poor dogs, I came to believe that he’s a charming, charismatic, psychopath. But since I believe he won’t fight dogs ever again; PETA is focusing on working with law enforcement to bust those who still do."

Is this Michael Vick's first experience coaching?

It is not uncommon for college football or NFL teams to hire former players to their coaching staff. However, they normally wait to name the head coaches until they have sufficient experience.

Although Michael Vick has a small amount of coaching experience, none of it was as a head coach. His first experience coaching came briefly in 2017. He joined the Kansas City Chiefs in training camp as a coaching intern. However, after training camp ended, he became an NFL analyst with Fox.

Vick had another coaching stint in 2018 when he was hired as the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Legends of the Alliance of American Football. However, shortly after the season started, it was announced that Vick would step down from his role but remain as a consultant.

As a result, Vick has had almost no experience as a head coach. So, it will be interesting to see how he does at Norfolk State.