Dan Reeves has been away from the Falcons for nearly four years, and the parting wasn't mutual. That doesn't mean he can't feel deeply for everyone touched by the impending Michael Vick dogfighting plea.

"All of a sudden all this happens to a guy you felt was almost a part of the family," the former Falcons coach said Monday, shortly after it was announced Vick planned to plead guilty to charges stemming from a federal dogfighting investigation. "It hurts. I hate it. I hate it for the organization. I hate if for the city."

CURTIS COMPTON/AJC (ENLARGE)

'I really care for the young man,' former Falcons coach Dan Reeves said of Michael Vick.

RELATED STORIES Vick files for bankruptcy protection  Marcus Vick free on bond, court appearance rescheduled  Marcus Vick arrested in Virginia  Vick ordered to pay $1.1 mil to Wachovia  Vick ordered to pay bank $2.5 million         More Vick coverage

Reeves coached the Falcons when they traded up with San Diego to make Vick the first overall pick in the 2001 NFL draft. From that moment, his future was tied directly to Vick's. In fact, Reeves was fired after a 2003 season that lay in ruins after Vick broke his leg during the preseason.

The coach considered himself close to Vick, and predicted soon upon his arrival that he one day would deliver a Super Bowl to Atlanta. When Reeves first heard about the dogfighting investigation earlier this year, his initial reaction was disbelief. Even now, all these months later, he has a difficult time coming to grips with the reality of Vick's plight.

"It really stung me [when the first word came out]," Reeves said. "And it hurts me now. I really care for the young man. He overcame a lot to get where he was.

"Everything he had, a lot of people would have given their right arm to have. And to see him throw it all away like this is unbelievable."

As many people have, Reeves said the portrait of Vick as a trafficker in dogfighting and animal cruelty does not jibe with the one he formed of him on a personal level.

"It just doesn't add up. Something's going on with him that I don't understand," Reeves said. "I still remember talking to [Vick's coach at Virginia Tech] Frank Beamer before the draft. He said there were players who after two or three minutes, you're ready for them to leave. But he said, 'I could talk to Mike all day.' And I felt the same way."

As for the future of his one-time star, Reeves couldn't predict. There were too many variables unresolved yet, including the length of his prison sentence and possible NFL suspension.

"I know he's still young [27]. And I know people are forgiving," he said.

"Right now, Mike just needs to take it one day at a time."