Former NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has turned himself into a championship-winning high school coach — and HBCUs are taking notice.
Bridgewater says he’s been contacted by multiple HBCUs recently.
“A new HBCU reached out to interview me today, and a couple of NFL teams have also offered coaching jobs. This is a cool process, no lie,” Bridgewater posted via Twitter/X.
The former Lousiville star led his high school, Miami Northwestern, to a state 3-A championship earlier this month in his first season as a head coach. His team outscored playoff opponents 262-12 and won the championship game 41-0.
Despite the interest from HBCUs, Teddy Bridgewater has made it clear that his goal is to return to the NFL.
“That’s the plan. My team knows that’s the plan. We wanted to win a state championship and then coach goes back to the league, see what happens, and then come back February in the offseason, continue coaching high school football. We’ll see how it plays out.”
The 32-year-old clearly wants to try his hand at the NFL again — for good reason. In nine NFL seasons — he missed all of 2016 due to injury — he has thrown for more touchdowns (87) than interceptions (75) and has a 33-32 record as a starter. And there will likely be several NFL teams interested in his services.
But it also makes sense that he would be on the radar as a potential HBCU coach, especially given the success of Deion Sanders and Eddie George, along with the hire of Michael Vick at Norfolk State. HBCUs have shown a willingness to take a chance on an unconventional candidate, and Bridgewater has shown the ability to lead a team to a championship, albeit at the high school level.
There are currently four HBCUs without a head coach named at the FCS level — Alabama A&M, Prairie View A&M, Mississippi Valley State and Delaware State.