The UFL has sent mixed signals over the past year regarding its potential interest in quarterback Mike Vick. Initially, Commissioner Michael Huyghue was gung-ho on the possibility. He subsequently cooled on the proposition.But now the pendulum has swung back in the pro-Vick direction, possibly due to the general sense that public opinion favors giving Vick a second chance, despite his guilty plea to federal felony charges of conspiracy to engage in interstate gambling and interstate dogfighting, and his subsequent 21-month prison term.
"One of the things that is important in our premiere season is to showcase the quality of talent and the coaches, and to be able to show outstanding players who find themselves in this quagmire the NFL creates," Huyghue recently told the Associated Press. "Michael Vick might be that kind of player because he is . . . a phenomenal talent, but he needs transitionining back into the NFL.
"Also gaining as much widespread exposure for the league as possible might be addressed with Michael Vick."
Buried in the AP story regarding the league's interest in Vick is the fact that the Orlando franchise already has secured dibs on Vick, if/when he lands in the UFL. Orlando will be coached by Jim Haslett, who got a first-hand look at Vick's talents while coaching the Saints against Vick's Falcons in the same division for several years.
Then again, Goodell might regard the importance of attaching the appropriate consequences to all player "mistakes" as being more important than keeping the UFL from hosting the Mike Vick Redemption Tour.
And UFL coach Dennis Green seems to be willing to give Vick a crack at redemption, even if it means that Green's San Francisco team will be chasing him around like Keystone Cops with club feet.
"I don't know if the NFL will suspend Vick," said Green, who recently predicted that the Dolphins will try to sign Vick if/when he is reinstated. "What he did was very wrong, and he paid his debt to society. He was a model inmate, otherwise he never would have made it out from prison early.
"Now he has to show he loves the game and is a responsible citizen. You can't show you love the game if you're not able to play the game. So if Michael Vick were to say, 'I will play for not a lot of money,' well, hello. We're here.
When Green refers to "not a lot of money," it remains to be seen how much "not a lot" is. Though no upper limit has been established for starting quarterbacks in the UFL, the minimum pay for the guy who'll take the snaps is $60,000.We've heard that Vick's handlers plan to steer him away from the UFL, but if he's suspended for all or most of the 2009 season, it might be his only choice.
He will likely be the 4th best qb in that league...
He should be lucky to play at even this level.
He's played his last down in the NFL.
"Model inmate" is the funniest thing that has ever been said by anyone, and put on your site. He should trademark that as well. You should start referring to Mike Vick as "the model inmate" from here on out. It is an oxymoron at its finest.
Since when did 60,000 become not a lot of money? How many ex-cons get a chance at that 5 months out of prison.
Well he can play in Hamilton, cause they suck.
CHARLES ROGERS WILL BE PLAYING IN THE UFL ACCORDING TO HIS AGENT JASON FLETCHER!
Tearing an ACL in that scrub league could cost Vick a lot of money in the long run....
If I were Vick, I'd try to get on Goodell's side by telling him I'll wait as long as you'd like to get back in the NFL...Not try to extort the man by threatening him with this BSFL...
I wonder if they are concerned if he can play QB at all anymore...
I mean in prison he made the transition from tight end to wide receiver.
I don't know Goodell's mind and what he plans to do with Vick, but if he changes his stance based on Vick giving the UFL some momentum, then he is a total fake. If Vick hurt the NFL so bad that the plan was to suspend him for the whole 09 season, then I think he should stick by it. In my opinion, Vick should be reinstated the moment he is no longer on home confinement, but if that wasn't Goodell's plan before the UFL, then for the sake of his message, the possibility of him playing in the UFL shouldn't change anything.
Model inmate? Please tell me this pile of garbage found Allah, loves dogs and hates swine now. What a joke. Model inmate is like a step up from very smart for a short bus rider. What did he do well? Played nice with others, lifted weights and protected his keister in the shower?
Good for you mike, way to not shank anyone in prison. That whole rape rack thing is water under the bridge. Clown
"possibly due to the general sense that public opinion favors giving Vick a second chance"
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Really? Just where is this "general sense" coming from? When you get away from football boards and venture to other parts of the net, you find that the "general sense" is that most of America doesn't want to see Vick back on the field ever again.
"But now the pendulum has swung back in the pro-Vick direction, possibly due to the general sense that public opinion favors giving Vick a second chance, despite his guilty plea to federal felony charges of conspiracy to engage in interstate gambling and interstate dogfighting, and his subsequent 21-month prison term."
Who is this "public opinion" and was he dropped on his head as a child?
"he was a model inmate" has become one of my favorite quotes ever
Who has his CFL negotiation rights?
Inhuman treatment of dogs, not to mention a breed banned in too many cities let alone entire states to count. This is the guy that you send under the bus, when you have murders, convicts, and drug users all over the league. Since when has a human life been of less value to that of a dog.
I am an American but it looks to me that America, land of the atomic bomb, slavery, and fresh starts; has forgotten its past, has America been forgiven????
Yeah he has paid his price.... But if I worked at burger king and had an interstate dog fighting/gambling ring. Got busted for it and went to federal prison, I wouldn't get my job back flipping burgers! So no, mike vick isn't entitled to $hit IMHO.
It's not the Nfl's fault that he pissed away that mountain of money.