A new chapter was beginning for Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons. In January 2007, owner Arthur Blank hired Bobby Petrino from the University of Louisville to be the next head coach after moving on from Jim Mora Jr. following the 2006 season.
Along with that hire came favorable expectations. Vick himself was coming off an historic season as he was the first quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards in a season (1,039). Bringing in Petrino, who was anointed as an offensive guru, would have given Vick a wide-open offensive scheme that would have made the Falcons even more complex to defend.