Shortly after the Lions season ended with an NFC Championship loss three weeks ago, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater officially announced his retirement.
Miami Herald writer Andre Fernandez wrote about what is next for the former Vikings quarterback:
Teddy Bridgewater's football journey took him from Miami to Louisville to Minnesota to New Orleans to Carolina to Denver, back home and eventually Detroit. But the Miami Northwestern Bulls never left his heart. After announcing a month ago that this would be his final NFL season, Bridgewater is doing what many long expected he would do. Bridgewater is returning to his high school alma mater as its new head football coach.
Minnesota selected Bridgewater No. 32 in the 2014 draft. He spent three years with the Vikings before a gruesome knee injury nearly ended his career. He worked his way back and established himself as a starting quarterback during stints with the Saints, Panthers and Broncos.
Fernandez noted that Bridgewater was a high school football star before his decorated campaigns at the University of Louisville and the NFL. Even during his pro career, Bridgewater frequented his high school alma mater's games on Friday nights.
Bridgewater, a former All-Dade first team quarterback who went on to play 10 years in the NFL, was formally introduced as Northwestern's new coach at a ceremony at the school attended by the school's football team. Bridgewater, 31, who started at quarterback for the Bulls from 2008 to 2010 and led them to the state finals his sophomore year, inherits a Northwestern team that went 4-6 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2015 this past season under the guidance of former high school teammate Michaelee Harris.
Bridgewater, who often wore Northwestern T-shirts in the locker room while playing for the Miami Dolphins in recent years, told local reporters for some time he wanted to come back to coach his alma mater when he retired from playing.
Over the past three seasons, Bridgewater backed up Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Fernandez added that Bridgewater has remained a respected member of the local community through his philanthropic work in the Miami area.
Bridgewater posted about the transition on his personal Instagram page.
Star Tribune Shares Super Bowl LVIII Takeaways the Vikings Can Learn From
For a second consecutive season, the Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl champions.
Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Head Coach Andy Reid and the Chiefs defeated the 49ers 25-22 in overtime Sunday. As a record 123.4 million tuned into the big game, there were lessons that the 30 other NFL teams can learn from both the Chiefs and 49ers.
Star Tribune writer Mark Craig shared his five takeaways from the Super Bowl. Once again, Mahomes reminded everyone that having an elite quarterback is the ultimate advantage.
On Mahomes, Craig wrote:
Mahomes went 8-for-8 on Sunday's game-winning drive. Travis Kelce caught one short pass. The other four with catches: Rashee Rice, Isiah Pacheco, Marques Valdes-Scantling and Mecole Hardman. Rice is a rookie second-round pick making $750,000. Pacheco is a seventh-round running back (2022). Valdes-Scantling was a modest free-agent signing (2022) whose salary ranks 27th among receivers. Hardman signed with the Jets last March and was traded back to Kansas City for a sixth-round pick. The epic drive and K.C.'s entire dynasty-clinching season was a reminder that nothing — not even keeping Justin Jefferson — should stand in the way of the Vikings taking a blockbuster shot at quarterback if the right move presents itself.
After pointing out the importance of power, depth and special teams, Craig made one more important point about "fast" quarterbacks.
Three years ago, Tom Brady's Bucs denied Mahomes the first Super Bowl repeat since Brady's Patriots in 2004. So it was only fitting that Mahomes repeated in Brady's first year in retirement. Mahomes' game-winning drive was vintage Brady — and then some. Running for eight yards on fourth-and-1 and 19 on third-and-1, Mahomes showed again that being the face of today's elite quarterback comes with feet that are fleet enough to match a fast mind. Mahomes had a team-high 66 yards on nine carries, a 7.3 average that matched last year's Super Bowl. In 18 playoff games, Mahomes has 90 carries for 524 yards (5.8). In 48 playoff games, Brady had 114 carries for 133 yards (1.2). Mahomes isn't there yet, but he sure seems to be stalking Brady with an evolutionary weapon or two that may one day redefine what a G.O.A.T. looks like.
Click here to read Craig's full takeaways.
