Teddy Bridgewater leads Miami Northwestern to Florida state title in 1st season as head coach

In his first season as the head coach at Miami Northwestern High School, Teddy Bridgewater has added an notable accolade to his storied football career: State championship head coach. And he did so leading his high school alma mater.

His squad bested Jacksonville Raines High School, 41-0, to finish the year 12-2 and as the Class 3A state champions on Saturday evening. Raines entered Saturday’s contest 13-0.

Northwestern has lost just twice this season — an overtime heartbreaker to No. 4 Venice in August and a nailbiter against Miami Norland in September. Since the Norland loss, the Bulls have rattled off nine consecutive wins.

Throughout the winning streak, the Bulls have appeared to improve on both sides of the ball. They have blown through the postseason with winning margins of 69, 52, 48 and 40 points.

Raines is ranked No. 15 in the state of Florida and has yet to drop a game this season, but the Vikings have also not yet played a team ranked in the top 25 of the Florida On3 Massey Ratings.

Bridgewater was named the coach at his alma mater earlier in 2024 after retiring from the NFL.

Bridgewater was originally drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft after a storied college career at Louisville. After an injury derailed his time with the team, he bounced around the league, playing for the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins before taking his talents to Detroit. 

While the injury changed the course of his career, it also provided Bridgewater with the perspective that he still utilizes.

“When I got hurt, I realized that I’m only a football player for three hours on a Sunday afternoon,” Bridgewater said, via The Detroit Free Press earlier this season. “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.”