Instead of telling his high school players what to do, Terry Bridgewater showed them. Bridgewater, a former Pro Bowl quarterback who recently concluded a 10-year NFL career, is the new head coach of his alma mater, Miami Northwestern Senior High. He went in at quarterback for one series on Thursday night during the school's annual Blue vs. Gold scrimmage.
With fans, college coaches and Dolphins star Tyreek Hill looking on, Bridgewater threw a touchdown pass while completing all three of his attempts.
"I just dinked and dunked," Bridgewater told Rivals.com after the scrimmage. "It's high school football. You don't have to create all these magical plays. You just get the ball to your guys. ... That's all you've got to do. That's why I just try to remind my guys that it doesn't take much."
Bridgewater, 31, decided to call it a career after spending the 2023 season as Jared Goff's backup in Detroit. In 10 seasons, Bridgewater went 33-32 as a starter while starting games for the Vikings, Saints, Panthers, Broncos and Dolphins. His best season took place in 2015, when he was named to the Pro Bowl while helping the Vikings capture a division title.
Bridgewater's career was altered just before the start of the 2016 season, when he suffered a severe knee injury during practice. He missed the entire 2016 season and attempted just 25 total passes during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
In 2019, Bridgewater enjoyed a career resurgence when then-Saints quarterback Drew Brees went down with an injury. With Brees out, Bridgewater won each of his five starts while completing nearly 68 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and just two picks.
Bridgewater parlayed that success into a starting opportunity with the Panthers in 2020. He completed a career-high 69.1 percent of his passes that season before spending the 2021 season as the Broncos starting quarterback. In Denver, Bridgewater continued to put up solid numbers while winning half of his 14 starts that season.
While his player career is now in the rearview mirror, Bridgewater is excited about his next venture as a high school coach.
"I'm learning a lot from them," Bridgewater said of his players. "I wrote a reminder on my call sheet: Have Fun. Just as these kids do. I just came from a profession where you take it so serious, you lose sight of how fun this game truly is. Money, the business, different things like that … but that's why I chose this level.
"It's so pure. You get guys transitioning from young man to adult. I just love it."