Quarterback spent nine seasons in NFL after throwing for more than 5,000 yards for perennial Miami powerhouse.
"Teddy, he's never left the school," Northwestern athletic director Andre Williams
told ESPN. "Since he's been in the NFL the last 10 years and certainly in college, he was always at the school during the offseason, 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."
The nine-year NFL veteran played for Northwestern from 2008-2010
before heading to Louisville and becoming a first-round draft pick in
2014 for Minnesota. Injuries cost him two years and after four seasons with the Vikings he
played with New Orleans, Carolina, Denver, Miami and Detroit. He threw
for more than 15,000 yards in his NFL career.
The No. 6 dual-threat quarterback in high school, Teddy Bridgewater returns to Northwestern to coach his alma mater one week after retiring from a nine-year NFL career. (Photo: Stuart Browning)
Bridgewater threw for more than 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Northwestern. He was the No. 6 dual-threat quarterback coming out of his school.
He takes over a Northwestern program that went 4-6 last season.
Bridgewater told the Detroit Free Press in December that he realized his football career wasn't going to last forever.
"When I got hurt, I realized that I'm only a football player for three hours on a Sunday afternoon," he told the paper. "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."
