Inside The Vikings

Ex-Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater suspended from high school coaching role

Bridgewater has been suspended for giving "impermissible benefits" to his Miami Northwestern players.
Miami Northwestern's Teddy Bridgewater raises the state trophy following the team's win over Raines in the Class 3A championship on Dec. 14, 2024.
Miami Northwestern's Teddy Bridgewater raises the state trophy following the team's win over Raines in the Class 3A championship on Dec. 14, 2024. | Chet Peterman / Special to The Post / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Former Vikings Pro Bowl quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has been suspended from his role as head coach of his alma mater, Miami Northwestern High School, for giving "impermissible benefits" to his players. This comes amid a Florida High School Athletic Association investigation.

Bridgewater, who led the school to a state championship last season in his first year as coach, made a post on Facebook last week where he asked for donations to the program, citing significant personal out-of-pocket spending on his team. He said he paid for things like training camp, apparel, feeding the team, recovery trucks, field maintenance, and Uber rides for players, among other expenses.

In a new Facebook post on Monday, Bridgewater acknowledged the suspension and made it clear that he doesn't plan on going anywhere. He also said he self-reported the payments to the school.

"The suspension came from MNW and it’s impossible to suspend someone who doesn’t work for you," wrote Bridgewater, who coached last season as a volunteer, not an employee of the school. "So if I'm suspended from MNW I'm free to go to another school of my choice but I'M 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."

Many on social media on Monday have commented on the questionable morality of Bridgewater being suspended simply for spending his own money to help the kids — some of them underprivileged — on his public high school team.

Bridgewater, 32, was drafted by the Vikings in the first round out of Louisville in 2014. In his second season, he made the Pro Bowl and led Minnesota to the playoffs. He then suffered a major knee injury prior to the 2016 campaign, but bounced back and went on to have stints with the Saints, Panthers, Broncos, Dolphins, and Lions. In late December last year, he came out of retirement and re-joined the Lions to serve as Jared Goff's backup.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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