UAB football watched power conference teams fill its head coach openings post Thanksgiving. The Blazers turned to Alex Mortenson who responded with a bonkers winning debut. But is he the guy to replace Trent Dilfer?
Mortenson, the son of the late NFL insider Chris, is lobbying for the job according to Pete Nakos of On3/Rivals.
“Mortenson delivered an upset over No. 22 Memphis, snapping the Blazers' 17-game losing streak under Trent Dilfer,” Nakos posted on the social media website X, formerly Twitter.
But has the American Athletic Conference program drawn heavy interest in the opening? Nakos revealed there's a familiar face linked to the HC gig.
Who else could replace Trent Dilfer at UAB
Nakos revealed where the interest in the Birmingham job lies.
“The interest in the UAB job will be one of the most expansive in the Group of Six carousel this winter. Sources have told On3 that this job has been circled by many. And add in the fact that many of the top up-and-coming coaches are in the American Conference at the moment. It remains unclear if athletic director Mark Ingram will run the search,” Nakos wrote.
But he eavesdropped two names linked to the Blazers who could be of interest: Former coaches Bill Clark and Bryant Vincent.
Clark went 49-26 overall at UAB — including helping lure back the program after it briefly shut down in 2014. Clark, though, resigned amid back issues and gave way to Vincent on an interim basis.
Dilfer, despite his extensive NFL background, became a straight from high school coach who landed the UAB gig. But Dilfer never won more than 10 games with the Blazers and became one of the midseason firings of the CFB season.
Nakos, though, threw in SMU coordinators Scott Symons (defensive coordinator) and Casey Woods as two names in the mix for the opening. UAB will need to get someone in as the early signing period for college football recruiting starts this week.
