How ex-NFL QB led HS alma mater to state title in first year as coach
MIAMI — Teddy Bridgewater said his first year as a high school football coach taught him patience.
For his alma mater, Miami Northwestern, Bridgewater’s arrival meant it no longer needed to be patient to win another state championship.
Bridgewater, a former NFL quarterback, guided the Bulls to a dominant 41-0 win against previously undefeated Jacksonville Raines in the Class 3A state championship game on Saturday night at Pitbull Stadium.
‘It means a lot to the kids, the school, the community, Liberty City in general,’ Bridgewater said. ‘When Northwestern is doing well, Liberty City is proud. We’ve been saying this for years and it’s great to be back on top.’
Bridgewater played 12 years in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions before retiring in February. It wasn’t long after that he was named the head coach at Northwestern.
He hit the ground running, conducting a football school for Bulls players in the winter, leading into spring practice. When the team started fall camp, Bridgwater had them stay at the school for six days so the players could really get to know each other and build camaraderie.
‘He’s means a lot,’ Northwestern star wide receiver Calvin Russell Jr. said of Bridgewater. ‘He changed the way we think about everything. The way we do things, how we go about things. He changed a whole lot.’
Coaching was a learning curve for Bridgewater, who had to adjust from the NFL to high school kids.
‘When you’re working with 14-year-olds, 15-year-olds, 16-year-olds, 17-year-olds and coming from the NFL, they won’t get it on the first try,’ he said. ‘They won’t get it on the second try. They might not get it on the third, the fourth or fifth. But if you stay patient with them, you really teach them the way to everything, the rest takes care of itself.’
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Northwestern. The Florida High School Athletic Assocation received an allegation after the regional quarterfinal that Northwestern was using a fifth-year player. After nearly two weeks, the FHSAA cleared Northwestern of any wrongdoing.
Bridgewater posted on social media on Nov. 19 that he couldn’t wait until the state title run was over so he could return to the NFL.
A few weeks later, Bridgewater complained about Miami-Dade Public Schools’ restrictive policies during the early signing period.
Bridgewater did not address his future plans after the state championship game.