Newly Retired Teddy Bridgewater Begins New Journey As High School Football Coach

Teddy Bridgewater is trading in his cleats for a clipboard.

The newly-retired former quarterback — who played 10 seasons in the NFL — has accepted the head coaching gig at his alma mater, Miami Northwestern Senior High School.

The school's athletic director, Andre Williams, said Bridgewater has been involved in the program for many years, and he's excited to have him on board full time.

"Teddy, he's never left the school," Williams said. "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."

Bridgewater's move doesn't come as a surprise. In December, the 31 year old told the Detroit Free Press he planned to call it quits after the Detroit Lions' postseason run. He wanted to become a high school football coach and focus on being a father to his two sons.

"Whatever was meant for me, it played out the exact way it was meant," Bridgewater said at the time. "And I'm still with that mindset every day, and I'm just really appreciative that I'm in Year 10. I tell everyone this is my last year, so I'm in my final year and I'm just enjoying it all, man."

Teddy Bridgewater Is Ready For The Next Step

A first-round pick in 2014 by the 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.

After 2017, he signed with the Jets. He was then traded to the Saints before the start of the 2018 season. He spent two years with the Saints, one with the Panthers (as the Week 1 starter), one with the Broncos (as the Week 1 starter), and one with the Dolphins (as the primary backup) before heading to Detroit to serve as Jared Goff's QB2.

"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."

(Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

Williams said Miami Northwestern received strong interest in its coaching vacancy, but hiring Bridgewater was a no-brainer.

"I wasn't concerned because he's always expressed that he wanted to come back in coach at his alma mater, Northwestern, and he was always present," Williams said. "He's a very humble young man. He very seldom shows his emotions, but I'm sure he was extremely excited. He mentioned that he was trying to hold his composure in the announcement not too long ago."

Bridgewater played quarterback for Miami Northwestern from 2008-2010, where he threw for an impressive 6,712 yards and 70 touchdowns.