Just to be on the safe side, the San Diego Chargers have changed the locks so former general manager Bobby Beathard can't sneak in and trade the No. 1 pick for Billy Kilmer. You know, just for old times' sake.

Michael Vick is the guy, unless newly-acquired starter Doug Flutie convinces the Chargers that a punter would be a bold first-round statement for the new regime. Flutie, who was pooch-kicked out of Buffalo in favor of Rob Johnson, must be thrilled with the idea of Vick heading west, too. Just what he needs: another in a long line of quarterback controversies (Chicago, Buffalo, now S.D.).

If all goes as planned, Vick will be Mr. Clipboard as a rookie. But what happens if Flutie has a Clairol-For-Men moment and starts looking like an old fogey out there? What happens if he has a three-interception, one-fumble game in the opener against the Redskins? What happens if the fans call for Vick, figuring the Chargers have a bye week, followed by a Sept. 23 trip to Dallas and the Troy-less Cowboys?

So welcome to Doug's nightmare.

Of course, it could be worse. Flutie could be Andy Joel.

Joel, the Richmond, Va.-based agent, was at the Hampton Roads Boys & Girls Club four months ago, tending to his prized client, Vick, as the Virginia Tech quarterback made it official: he was leaving school for the NFL. It was a giddy day for everyone, including Joel Enterprises partner Dave Lowman, who told reporters that Vick's signing was "the greatest moment in our company's history." After all, Joel didn't have a national reputation, didn't have much of an NFL client base and, until Vick, didn't represent a single college player for the 2001 draft.

Now he had the likely No. 1 overall pick. At least, they thought they had him.

"The papers were signed," says Joel. "We processed them. We were working on endorsements. Then I found out through the newspapers."

Two weeks after "the greatest moment," Joel learned he had been fired by Vick. The official letter of notification arrived Jan. 25. "I was just getting ready to ship down his itinerary to the Super Bowl for him," Joel says.

Instead, Vick switched to Washington D.C.-based Octagon. "They were out doing marketing deals before they even signed him up," says Joel.

Whatever happened, the decision cost Joel a percentage of Vick's expected $50 million-$60 million NFL contract, as well as a percentage of his endorsement deals. Joel hasn't spoken with Vick since shortly before receiving the pink slip, but if he did, Joel said he'd wish him luck.

"It's not Mike; it's the process," Joel says. "Mike is a great kid. I guess I look at it as, you win a ballgame, you lose a ballgame. We lost a ballgame."

Meanwhile, one man's loss is another man's gain ...

Bryan Stinespring tried, he really did, but a recruiting coordinator can only do so much. Try convincing the nation's best high school quarterbacks to come to Virginia Tech as Vick, the redshirt freshman, is neutering Florida State in the Sugar Bowl. Try explaining why they should sit behind a guy who is the Heisman Trophy favorite as a sophomore and would have been again as a junior.

Now you know why the Hokies couldn't get a sniff from a top-10 high school quarterback a year ago. Nobody on Tech's short list would even include Blacksburg on one of their five official visits. All that changed when Vick began to waver on his college future.

Tech still lost Michael Robinson, a key in-state prospect, to Penn State on signing day, but they did get Parade All-American Bryan Randall from Williamsburg, Va., as well as Will Hunt from Springdale High School in Arkansas, who had committed earlier.

"I think it became critical for us to sign at least two quarterbacks who we felt could come in and perhaps help us next next year," says Stinespring, the Hokies' assistant head coach. "Bryan Randall became critical for us."

As it turns out, Stinespring was worried most about receiving a letter of intent from Chester, Pa., running back Kevin Jones, Tech's top recruit, who was also the object of Penn State's recruiting blitz. Jones had often said he wanted to play with Vick, so would Vick's departure be enough to push him toward State College?

Nope. "His fax [letter of intent] was the first or second one we got that morning," says Stinespring, who nearly hugged the machine when he saw Jones' name.

Already the Hokies are looking to sign at least one quarterback next year. Says Stinespring: "I think we're going to survive life after Michael."

Gene Wojciechowski is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail Geno at gene.wojciechowski@espnmag.com.