UAB announced Trent Dilfer as its new football head coach Wednesday.
While the former NFL quarterback won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens and worked as an analyst for ESPN, he’s never coached college football. He’s the head coach at Lipscomb Academy, a high school in Nashville.
Per The Athletic’s Chris Vannini, Dilfer addressed his background during Wednesday’s introductory press conference.
“I am a high school coach and I’m not ashamed of that. … I like big climbs,” Dilfer said. “I like looking up and people saying you’re not getting up there.”
Dilfer acknowledged the learning curve he must conquer to succeed in his new position.
“We will learn to recruit at an elite level. I’d be lying if I told you I know how to recruit an elite level. That would be crap. That would be a lie. But we’re about to get really good at it. I’ll hire people that have been great at it.”
UAB athletic director Mark Ingram called Dilfer “a proven winner on and off the field” in a statement revealing the hire.
“Trent’s goals and vision for our program is to lead UAB to the College Football Playoff, and we have no doubt that he is the right coach to lead our transition in the American Athletic Conference,” Ingram said.
The Blazers went 6-6 under interim coach Bryant Vincent following Bill Clark’s retirement. Before assuming his new role, Dilfer will lead Lipscomb Academy into a state championship game Thursday.
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