College football has seen a recent rise in the number of celebrity coaches. And while their public personas may try to distance them from their players, Norfolk State Spartans head coach Michael Vick has instead embraced a father-figure role, following the path set by his friend and Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders. “I think starting out, they respect me as a coach,” Vick said during his April 17 appearance on Josh Pate’s College Football Show.

“And then, as time goes on, they start to hear and see everything, maybe go to Google and inquire about this themselves, you know, who my coach really is. And then, they might start to look at me as a celebrity coach. “… but for the most part, I try to impose my will on them as a coach.

‘I’m your coach; I’m a father figure; I’m somebody who’s going to be there to help you, just be a beacon to where you want to go.’ So, it kind of takes a while to get that out of their head. But once they do, it’s really genuine, and it’s definitely appreciative on both sides.” Vick had an illustrious 13-year NFL career that validates his status as a celebrity coach in every sense. He was the first overall pick by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2001 NFL draft and ended his career as the all-time leader in quarterback rushing yards when he retired, before he was surpassed by Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Individually, he won the Archie Griffin Award as a freshman at Virginia Tech and was named to three Pro Bowls as a pro. Sanders’ celebrity status is built on a legendary career unlike any other. Not only was he a dual-sport star who remains the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series, but his football dominance, highlighted by a 1994 Defensive Player of the Year award and back-to-back Super Bowl titles, cemented the ‘Prime Time’ persona he now channels as ‘Coach Prime.’ Being a celebrity coach may require some mind-blowing achievements, but being a fatherly coach requires putting those achievements aside and connecting deeply with players.

As a result, Vick was asked how readily he was to open himself up to his players, and he could not have given a better response. “All the time. Because they come into my office, they want to talk, they want to know about certain things that happened in my life,” Vick said.

“And I always tell them I’ll be a hundred percent transparent with them; I’ll be candid with them. And I do that, so I get the same from them. So, when I come to them, I ask them a question about their personal life or something I might need to know that might be really important, and that they don’t be afraid to share.” On his part, Coach Prime always put his word into action.

That showed itself when Travis Hunter described Sanders as “more than just a coach. He’s a father…I don’t know where I would be without him.” In another instance, Sanders supported his wide receiver, Jimmy Horn Jr., when the latter’s father was incarcerated. Michael Vick and Deion Sanders Vick does not just share a similar coaching philosophy with Deion Sanders; the pair also have a great relationship, especially because they a both Atlanta Falcons legends.

Despite playing for the Falcons in different years, they were able to get on, with Vick learning so much from Sanders, who, in turn, serves as a mentor to him. “It’s always been a great relationship with Deion, dating back to when I was a player,” Vick said to On3. “And so now it’s just grown as a man, as I’ve grown as a man, find ways to ask different questions and to communicate different… I can bounce ideas off him, and he can throw some things at me.” With Norfolk State, Vick finished his first season with a 1-11 record and has expressed his desire to not just be a father figure, like Sanders, but to “do what he did as a coach for an HBCU”—a path that for Sanders included winning an SWAC championship in his second season.