Former Philadelphia Eagles teammates DeSean Jackson and Michael Vick are facing off against one another as head coaches on Thursday evening. Jackson is the current head coach at Delaware State, coaching in his first season with the Hornets. Vick is also coaching at Norfolk State, currently in his first season with the Spartans.
The two former Eagles teammates, who played together from 2009-2014 in Philadelphia, will be playing against each other as coaches in their old home stadium—Lincoln Financial Field.
Let's see how both coaches are doing during their first seasons at their respective schools.
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DeSean Jackson coaching record
DeSean Jackson has led the Hornets to a 5-3 start through eight games, as well as a 1-0 start in the MEAC Conference. The Hornets got their first conference win just last week, beating NC Central 35-26. Delaware State is tied atop the MEAC Standings, with South Carolina State and Howard at 1-0 in-conference.
The Hornets opened their season with a 35-7 loss to in-state foe Delaware, then rattled off three straight wins over Albany, Bowie State and Saint Francis. Delaware State then dropped two straight road games to Sacred Heart and Monmouth, but rebounded with a 70-23 win over Southern Connecticut State and the aforementioned NC Central win.
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Michael Vick coaching record
Michael Vick's team has gotten off to a much slower start. Through the first eight games of the season, the Spartans are 1-7, with a lone victory so far over Virginia State.
The Spartans started with a 1-1 record, opening in Week 1 with a 27-7 loss to Towson. Norfolk State defeated Virginia State by three, winning 34-31. Norfolk State then lost 60-10 at Rutgers in Week 3 followed by three straight losses to Sacred Heart, Wagner and Hampton, although all of those were one-score losses. Norfolk State has lost its last two games to Wofford and South Carolina State by combined scores of 82-34.
In a recent article spotlighting Vick's journey to Norfolk State, the Washington Post reported that Spartan season ticket prices have doubled, in addition to demand for them.
“I’m trying to focus on how I can be better as a head coach,” Vick said after his team’s loss to Hampton earlier this month. “I feel like I do a good job of getting us ready to play. But you know, when the ball is snapped, I’m not out there. … That’s what makes it so tough being on the sidelines. I try to remove myself from that and help them, but I can’t help them [on the field]. All I can do is put them in position.”
Vick has even made changes on his defensive staff midseason.
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Where did DeSean Jackson go to college?
DeSean Jackson was born and raised in Los Angeles, Calif. He played football for the Cal Bears in Berkley, and played from 2005-2007 under former Bears head coach Jeff Tedford. He led the Bears in receiving yards in his first two seasons at Cal, and finished with 162 receptions for 2,423 yards with 22 touchdowns.
His best season came in 2006, when he finished with a career-high 1,060 yards receiving with nine touchdowns. He averaged 18 yards per catch too, which led the nation. Cal reached 10 wins that season, and capped it off with a Holiday Bowl victory over Texas A&M.
Jackson was drafted in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Eagles.
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Where did Michael Vick go to college?
Vick played two seasons at Virginia Tech from 1999-2000. As a redshirt freshman in 1999, he threw for 1,840 yards with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions. He led the nation in passing efficiency (180.37), which was a record for a freshman at the time.
He rushed for another 585 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground, too. That season, he finished third in Heisman voting, behind the winner Ron Dayne, the running back from Wisconsin and fellow finalist quarterback Joe Hamilton from Georgia Tech.
His second season as a starter at Virginia Tech, he missed a number of games due to injury. He still threw for 1,234 yards with eight touchdowns and six interceptions, and rushed for another 617 yards with eight touchdowns.
He was drafted No. 1 overall in the 2001 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons.
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How Norfolk State, Delaware State compare to Deion Sanders' first season as coach
Given that both Vick and Jackson are first-year head coaches at HBCU, there have been some comparisons to Deion Sanders. After Sanders coached his sons Shedeuer and Shilo at Trinity Christian High School, he was hired at Jackson State as their head coach in 2020.
Due to COVID, Jackson State played in the spring of 2021. Sanders' team finished 4-3, with one victory coming via forfeit. During his first full season there in the fall of 2021, the Tigers went 11-2 and won the SWAC Championship.
Earlier this week, Jackson talked about how cool it will be to play against his former teammate in Philadelphia:
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