MIAMI – Former NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has been suspended from his position as head football coach at Miami Northwestern High School in Florida after he was accused of providing impermissible benefits to his players.
Bridgewater, 32, confirmed his suspension by his alma mater in a
Facebook post
on Sunday.
“The suspension came from MNW and it’s impossible to suspend someone who doesn’t work for you,” Bridgewater said. “So if im suspended from MNW im free to go to another school of my choice but IM NOT GOING ANYWHERE.
“And if it comes down to it, I will volunteer from the bleachers like I used to in 2018 and 2019 when no one had a problem,” he added.
Bridgewater led Miami Northwestern to winning the Class 3A state championship in his first season as the Bulls’ head coach.
Earlier this month, Bridgewater
posted on Facebook
saying he covers “all the expenses” for his players, including Uber rides, meals, recovery services and more. In the post, he requested fundraising donations to the program “so I no longer have to take from my personal funds to keep smiles on these young men face and remind them that they matter.”
Bridgewater said last season he paid $14,000 to conduct a four-night training camp, $2,200 per week to feed the team a pre-game meal, $1,300 per week to provide recovery service trucks for players before games, $700 per week for Uber rides, $300 per week to field the football field painted and lined, and more.
In his Facebook post confirming his suspension from Miami Northwestern, Bridgewater said he self-reported his football-related payments to the school.
After Bridgewater led Miami Northwestern to a state title last season, he
ended his NFL retirement
and signed with the Detroit Lions as the team’s backup QB in December. He returned to Miami Northwestern in February after the NFL season ended.
“My team knows that’s the plan,” Bridgewater
told NFL Network’s “The Insiders”
last week. “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.”
Bridgewater, a 10-year NFL veteran, was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. The former Louisville standout played his first three seasons with the Vikings, two seasons with the New Orleans Saints, and one season each for the Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, and Miami Dolphins, and the past two seasons with the Lions.
For his NFL career, Bridgewater has thrown for 15,120 yards while completing 66.4% of his passes, along with 75 touchdowns and 47 interceptions in 79 games, including a 33-32 record as a starter.