Michael Vick will start today at quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles at Heinz Field. If things had fallen differently three years ago, he might be taking the field wearing a Steelers uniform. • Mike Tomlin pitched the idea to the Steelers of signing Vick in the summer of 2009, shortly after the disgraced quarterback completed 21 months in prison for pleading guilty to a federal felony charge of running an interstate dog-fighting ring. Atlanta released him in June, and Vick was ready to resume his football career. Tomlin was interested in having him as a backup to Ben Roethlisberger, although how that would have worked out is anyone's guess.
Tomlin knew all about Vick's talents. Both were born in Newport News, Va., and Tomlin coached twice annually against Vick when he was the secondary coach at Tampa Bay and the quarterback played for NFC South-rival Atlanta. Vick's mentor during his time in prison and afterward was Tony Dungy, Tomlin's former coach in Tampa Bay.
Byron Leftwich, who played behind Roethlisberger in '08, had signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent in '09. The Steelers had Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon as backups heading into '09.
Two things prevented Tomlin from bringing Vick to Pittsburgh. The Rooneys wanted nothing to do with it. They had no desire to bring in a felon, just out of prison, and all the negative reaction his signing would bring, both internally and externally. Plus, the Steelers were reigning Super Bowl champs. Who needed that headache?
Tomlin was willing to look past that. But there was another element in the equation that he said ultimately convinced him not to pursue it -- Roethlisberger.
A week before the Steelers opened training camp in '09, a lawsuit filed against Roethlisberger in Lake Tahoe, Nev., alleging he raped a woman surfaced. (The suit quietly was settled out of court last year, and neither side has divulged the settlement.) Tomlin came to believe that signing Vick at such a period for his two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback was a bad idea.
"Given some of the things that my quarterback was going through, I didn't think it was the appropriate time to add another quarterback to the mix," Tomlin told NBC's Bob Costas that year. "He's going through somewhat of a trying time with the civil allegation, a case against him. I didn't want to do anything that was less than supportive to Ben."
How might things have turned out had the Rooneys agreed to Tomlin's wishes and signed Vick, who certainly wasn't going to take being a backup for very long? It might have changed how the Steelers saw their $100 million quarterback a year later when Roethlisberger became even more vulnerable as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him for the first four games of the '10 season after another assault allegation against the quarterback in Georgia -- an allegation that never was prosecuted.
Look what happened after the Eagles signed Vick. Many Philadelphia fans howled in protest, and animal rights activists picketed the Eagles. Those things died down, however, and his teammates voted Vick their Ed Block Courage Award winner after that first season, in which he played some behind starter Donovan McNabb.
In a stunning move, the Eagles traded their "franchise" quarterback, McNabb, to the Redskins in '10. Kevin Kolb started that season at quarterback, but, after two games, coach Andy Reid gave the job to Vick.
So here we are, Michael Vick vs. Ben Roethlisberger in Heinz Field today. It's a tale of two quarterbacks who have overcome some distasteful experiences to find success again, on and off the field.
How their two paths might have differed had the Steelers followed through on their coach's initial desire three years ago will remain unanswered.
All about the name on the back of the jersey
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/on-the-steelers-the-deal-not-made-for-vick-656563/#ixzz28bsXdfIk
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