UAB fires coach Dilfer amid 2-4 start to 3rd season

UAB fired erstwhile Super Bowl-winning backmost Trent Dilfer arsenic its caput manager connected Sunday, a time aft the Blazers mislaid their 3rd consecutive game, 53-33 astatine Florida Atlantic, to autumn to 2-4 this season.

Dilfer, 53, had a 9-21 grounds successful two-plus seasons astatine UAB.

"We hold that -- unluckily -- our on-field show has not lived up to the modular of winning we person for the program," diversion manager Mark Ingram said successful a statement announcing the decision. "I privation Coach Dilfer the champion and convey him for his class, tireless enactment and committedness during his tenure astatine UAB.

"While his efforts did not construe into a winning record, each young antheral who played for him volition beryllium a amended idiosyncratic arsenic a result."

Alex Mortensen, the lad of precocious NFL expert Chris Mortensen, volition service arsenic interim coach.

A 14-year NFL veteran, Dilfer was a astonishing prime to instrumentality implicit the UAB programme aft Bill Clark retired for wellness reasons earlier the 2022 season. Then-interim manager Bryant Vincent, present astatine Louisiana-Monroe, guided the Blazers to a 7-6 grounds that play earlier Dilfer was hired successful November 2022.

Dilfer had ne'er coached successful college, and his lone acquisition had travel during a highly palmy four-year stint astatine Lipscomb Academy, a backstage precocious schoolhouse successful Nashville, from 2019-2022.

The Blazers went 4-8 successful Dilfer's archetypal play successful 2023 and 3-9 successful 2024.

This season, UAB's lone victories came successful constrictive wins against FCS programme Alabama State and Akron.

The Blazers fertile past successful scoring defence (41.3 points) successful the American Athletic Conference. UAB and Tulane are the league's astir penalized teams astatine 8.5 per game.

Dilfer, a erstwhile ESPN analyst, was the No. 6 prime successful the NFL draught by Tampa Bay successful 1994. A 1997 Pro Bowler, Dilfer appeared successful 130 games, throwing for 20,518 yards, 113 touchdowns and 129 interceptions.