Newly retired QB Teddy Bridgewater named head coach at alma mater

Field Level Media|published: Fri 2nd February, 11:21 2024

Aug 25, 2023; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Detroit Lions quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (17) on the sidelines in the fourth quarter at Bank of America Stadium. credits: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Teddy Bridgewater, days into his retirement from the NFL, was named head football coach at his alma mater, Miami Northwestern High School, on Friday.

Bridgewater, 31, was the school's quarterback from 2008-10 before heading to Louisville and then the NFL.

A first-round draft pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2014, Bridgewater missed the 2016 and part of the 2017 seasons because of a torn ACL and dislocated knee. A starter his first two seasons with the Vikings, his most recent job was as the backup quarterback to Jared Goff with the 2023 Detroit Lions — his sixth NFL team.

Bridgewater also spent time with the New Orleans Saints (2018-19), Carolina Panthers (2020), Denver Broncos (2021) and Miami Dolphins (2022). He started 29 games with the Panthers and Broncos and posted a career 33-32 record as a starter. He appeared in 79 games and completed 66.4 percent of his passes for 15,120 yards with 75 touchdowns and 47 interceptions.

"When I got hurt, I realized that I'm only a football player for three hours on a Sunday afternoon," Bridgewater told the Detroit Free Press in December. "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 (anymore). 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."

—Field Level Media

Latest