Former Quarterback Joey Harrington Reveals What It Was Like To Be Michael Vick’s Backup As the Dog Fighting Story Broke

On today's Pardon My Take... JOEY HARRINGTON! The former Oregon Duck and NFL quarterback joined Mr. Cat and Mr. Commenter on today's show to discuss what it was like to play for Nick Saban, Bobby Petrino, the reason why his name came up on PMT a few weeks ago, and much more. When Harrington was in the league, he once played for the Atlanta Falcons. He was supposed to be the backup quarterback, with the guy in front of him being someone by the name of Michael Vick.

As we all know, that did not remain the case. Vick's life took a turn when the dog fighting news came out, and Harrington was the next man up in Atlanta. Harrington explained what went through his mind when that all went down back in 2007.

Mr. Commenter: So, after you were in Miami, you alluded to this earlier, but you went up to Atlanta, and you were signed there to back up Michael Vick. And Bobby Petrino has just come in that offseason, had a lot of success in college, they wanted him to coach Michael Vick and use his mobility, all that stuff. And then, record scratch, like two months after you get signed, Michael Vick gets arrested for dog fighting, and now you're going to run Bobby Petrino's offense, and you're having to learn all of that. 

Mr. Commenter: First of all, like, what was it like, you know, the days and weeks before the indictment came down on Michael Vick? Like, were you guys completely caught off guard or was there some, you know, sense of the organization that you might have to step into a different role?

Joey Harrington: I think it's fair to say that I was completely caught off guard. And let me say this, so there's a couple of different things here. First of all, with me and Mike, I came in to be his backup, right? After all the mess in Detroit, and then, you know, thinking I'm going to Miami to kind of reset, and then Saban leaves, and everybody gets cleaned house. I'm going to Atlanta thinking, "OK, this is my chance to reset. No one's as stable as Mike Vick, no one's taking his spot. You know, I can truly just kind of sit and recover." 

Joey Harrington: I didn't want to, I don't want to say put my nose in it, like I didn't want to get involved, but it started to kind of trickle like a little bit here, a little but there, and then it starts to build momentum, and to the point where it's like, you know, I got reporters asking me questions about Mike. I was like, "Man, I don't know. I can't answer that." And so, I asked Mike, I was like, "Look buddy, like, I don't want to get in your business, but I want to know how I should handle this for you, right? If these questions come to me, because I don't want to say something that, you know, is wrong for you." And there was a feeling of, you know, kind of like, you know, "I'm going to be all right, like, it's going to be fine," that he shared with me.

Joey Harrington: Well, come to find out it wasn't fine. And actually, I love, you know, I love Mike's story because he was such a great guy, and the fact that, you know, I don't want to say it was good that it happened to him, but the way that he responded from it and the type of person he is now, and the way he responded in his career. I mean, I got nothing but respect for that guy. It's amazing what he went through. But yeah, there was kind of a "caught out of left field," you know, moment for me. I was actually at home, I was over in Central Oregon and I had just gone for like a hike up Black Butte is what it's called. It's like a little, you know, kind of mountain over in Central Oregon, I came down and stepped on a rock and rolled my ankle, and I'm sitting at home back on the couch, and my phone rings, and it was our quarterback coach, Bill Musgrave, he says, "Well, you ready?" I was like, "Ah man, funny you called, I'm kind of icing my ankle right now, but I'll be fine, no big deal." He said, "No. Are you ready?" "What are you talking about? He said, "Turn on ESPN." So, I clicked it on and sure enough, Mike's being taken away in handcuffs.

Mr. Commenter: That's not really something that you prepare for, like in media training. It's like, all right, the guy that has your job, he just got arrested for running a dog fighting kennel... go. 

Joey Harrington: Yeah, you know, that's actually part of the playbook. You know, it's like, you wake up, you have your coffee, you do your weight workout, watch some film, get ready for the guy ahead of you to be arrested, and then you go out and you run 7-on-7. There's no playbook for that. And so, I show up for camp, and it's more than just being thrust into a job. It's PETA protestors outside the practice facility. I mean, there were airplanes with, like, big sings circling the practice field, like, you know, your new name is the "Atlanta Dog Killers." I was like, "Man, what the hell is going on?"

Mr. Commenter You were like, "I just wanted to be a backup, I just wanted to get on the Matt Schaub level where I sit behind Michael Vick for six years and then get a nice contract somewhere else. 

Mr. Commenter: ... And the best part is Bobby Petrino is the coach, he's ill-equipped for everything. 

Does anyone else get "Blue Mountain State" vibes from this? The main character expects to just float by as the backup quarterback, and the next thing you know, it's your turn to lead the team under center. This was an awesome interview with Joey Harrington, go check it out in addition to the entirety of today's show.