Former $63m NFL QB leads high school team to state title in first year as head coach - sports news foot

Teddy Bridgewater has already found success in his first job since NFL retirement.

The 32-year-old, who played 10 seasons, stepped away from the league in 2024 after stints with the Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions.

5

He’s still a football guy, and was named the head coach for Miami Northwestern High School – his alma mater – in February.

And just 10 months after he was hired, the former NFL quarterback was able guide the Bulls to a Florida High School Athletic Association Class 3A championship on Saturday night.

Going up against the previously undefeated Raines, Miami Northwestern delivered an emphatic 41-0 win in the state title game.

“Huge Congratulations to the 2024 FHSAA 3A Football State Champions! Their eighth overall State Title. What an accomplishment,” The Florida High School Athletic Association wrote on X, congratulating the team.

Bridgewater inherited a Bulls program that had gone 4-6 in 2023 under their previous head coach Michalee Harris.

After starting the year 2-2, Miami Northwestern then embarked on a 10-game winning streak to finish 12-2 overall.

In their five Class 3A playoff games, they out-scored their opponents by a massive 262-12 margin.

“It’s great to be back on top,” Bridgewater, a 2014 first-round draft pick for the Vikings, said after the victory.

Born and raised in Miami, the former NFL star started at quarterback for Miami Northwestern from 2008-2010, where he threw for more than 5,000 yards and helped lead the Bulls to the state final as a sophomore.

Bridgewater went on to the University of Louisville, where he was regarded as one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation.

5

5

5

In 39 career games with the Cardinals from 2011 to 2013, he completed 68.4% of his passes for 9,817 yards and 72 touchdowns.

During that time, he threw just 24 interceptions.

Bridgewater entered the NFL as the 32nd overall pick in 2014, and spent three years in Minnesota before a knee injury nearly ended his career.

He bounced back to play for five more teams, and later signed a three-year, $63million deal with the Panthers in 2020, the same year the team released Cam Newton.

Bridgewater led Carolina to a 4-11 finish in his one season there, and went on to play for the Broncos, Dolphins and Lions, before retiring after the 2023 season.

He finished his 10-year career in the NFL with 15,120 yards and 75 touchdown passes.

5

Now, Bridgewater will be looking to make his mark on high school football – and has already caught attention with an impressive first season.