Massachusetts high school football team welcomes former NFL player to coaching staff

A Massachusetts high school football team will get some NFL-level wisdom from one of their new coaches. Andover High School announced the hiring of Pete Clifford as offensive line coach and run game coordinator.

Adding Clifford could help the Golden Warriors reverse their 5-7 record from last season. After starting their season at 5-2, Andover ended their campaign with a five-game losing streak with an average deficit of 13.6 points.

Andover Football Welcomes Offensive Line Coach and Run game Coordinator Peter Clifford to the community and staff! Coach Clifford does an unbelievable job connecting with kids from all levels regardless of the skillset. He has played at the highest Levels of Football NFL P4 ball pic.twitter.com/j9QrO4etv5

— Andover High School Varsity Football (@CoachFielding) May 6, 2025

Clifford initially played high school football at Bridgeton Academy. However, he eventually transferred to Salem High School wherein he earned All-New Hampshire honors during his senior year.

He played college football for Michigan State and redshirted his first year. During his redshirt freshman season, Clifford became an Academic All-Big Ten selection despite appearing in only three games.

Pete Clifford became a rising contributor for the Spartans until his redshirt senior season, wherein he became a Second-Team All-Big Ten member. During that year (2007), Clifford started every game at left tackle and became one of four team captains.

Despite those credentials, he went undrafted in 2008 but eventually signed with the Arizona Cardinals. However, an injury settlement had him falling short of making the final roster. The Tennessee Titans gave him a workout which didn’t pan out because he reaggravated his injury.

A year later, the Titans signed Clifford to a futures contract before transferring him to the Waived/Injured list. He also signed with the United Football League’s Hartford Colonials before trying his luck with the New York Jets. Unfortunately, the Jets released him before the 2011 NFL season started.

Pete Clifford’s LinkedIn page says that he attended the NFL Career Transition Program given by the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2012. In addition to coaching Massachusetts high school football, he’s also the COO of Titan Tent LLC, an event rental and planning company operating in the Greater Boston area.