Teddy Bridgewater Leads Alma Mater To Florida State Title In First Season

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PublishedDecember 15, 2024 2:35 PM EST|UpdatedDecember 15, 2024 2:35 PM EST

So far, Teddy Bridgewater is thriving in his life after retirement from the NFL. In his first year as head football coach at Miami Northwestern Senior High School, the former Pro Bowl quarterback led his alma mater to the Class 3A Florida High School Athletic Association state title.

And he did it in dominant fashion. Miami Northwestern went 12-2 on the season, outscoring its opponents 262-12 in five playoff games. That includes beating previously undefeated Raines 41-0 in the championship game.

Quite a turnaround from a program that had gone 4-6 the previous year.

Bridgewater, who spent 10 seasons in the NFL, officially retired from playing after the 2023 season. And although he officially took the Miami Northwestern job in February, he had been involved in the program for many years.

“Teddy, he’s never left the school,” the school’s athletic director Andre Williams said when Bridgewater was hired. “Since he’s been in the NFL the last 10 years and certainly in college, he was always at the school during the off-season, working out with the young men, giving them his knowledge of the game. He’s never left the school, so we’re just officially bringing him back as the head coach.”

Miami Northwestern’s Teddy Bridgewater raises the state trophy following the team’s win over Raines in the Class 3A championship on Dec. 14, 2024.

A first-round pick in 2014 by the Minnesota Vikings, Bridgewater suffered a non-contact ACL tear in a training camp practice just before the 2016 season — derailing his career. He became a journeyman after that, spending time with the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions.

“When I got hurt, I realized that I’m only a football player for three hours on a Sunday afternoon,” Bridgewater said.

“Outside of that, I’m Theodore Bridgewater, so it just put everything into perspective, and it really helped me not even have to think about not being a starter. It’s like, ‘Man, I still got purpose.’ And my purpose is bigger than the game of football. Football is just a platform that I have.”