Trent Dilfer hadn’t been a college coach before he took over at UAB. But considering he was a former NFL quarterback and a successful coach at the high school ranks, one could see why he would get an opportunity at some point.
But so far, things haven’t been smooth for Dilfer. UAB went 4-8 last year, and the Blazers have started this season 2-7 with a 1-4 mark against AAC teams. Fans have quickly turned on him for myriad reasons.
Normally I would think coaches get two full seasons before they’re on the hot seat because athletic directors generally don’t want quick turnarounds and because new coaches are often brought in because the team wasn’t successful before so it takes some time to establish a winning culture.
But because UAB had a winning record before Dilfer got there, and because of how disappointing the Blazers have been this season, some believe he should be on the hot seat. If UAB needs to hire a new head coach going into 2025, here’s some names they should consider.
ULM Head Coach Bryant Vincent
Would this happen? Maybe. Maybe not. Should UAB at least try? I think so.
Vincent was UAB’s interim head coach in 2022 after also being an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach there. The Blazers went 7-6 overall with a win in the Bahamas Bowl that season. In his five years at UAB, he helped his players break several school records on offense.
But instead of making Vincent the long-term head coach, UAB went with Dilfer. If Vincent were open to it, hiring him makes plenty of sense.
After all, he’s been great as ULM’s coach thus far. ULM was 2-10 in 2023. But in Vincent’s first season leading the team, the Warhawks are 5-1 overall and 3-0 in Sun Belt play. He’s proven he can turn a program around quickly.
Vincent was New Mexico’s offensive coordinator last season. While he was at UNM, the Lobos made great improvements on offense. They scored 27.3 points per game in 2023, which was more than double their production from the previous year.
Maybe too much has happened at this point for Vincent to go back to UAB, but he absolutely should be considered by the Blazers.
Jacksonville Jaguars Running Backs Coach Jerry Mack
Mack has experience as a head coach and a coordinator in the region.
Before going to the Jaguars, Mack was Tennessee’s running backs coach from 2021-23. Last year, the Volunteers were 10th in the country with 204.8 rushing yards per game. Leading rusher Jaylen Wright was among the 45 running backs in the country to rush for at least 1,000 yards.
Previously, he was an associate head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach at Rice. He’s also been a head coach at North Carolina Central, a wide receivers coach at South Alabama and Memphis, an OC and quarterbacks coach at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, a passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Central Arkansas, and a wide receivers/tight ends coach at Jackson State.
With a resume like his, Mack would deserve to be a head coaching candidate for the Blazers.
Kansas State Assistant Head Coach Van Malone
Malone hasn’t been a head coach at the collegiate level yet, but he has a good amount of experience as a coordinator and positions coach at several FBS programs.
Malone, who is also a defensive passing game coordinator and a cornerbacks coach, has been at Kansas State since 2019. Last year, the Wildcats were 18th in passing efficiency defense (118.63) and were 10th in the country with 16 interceptions the season before. Several K-State defensive backs have earned All-Big 12 accolades during Malone’s tenure.
Previously, Malone was a defensive quality control coach at Mississippi State (2018) and a defensive coordinator at SMU (2015-17). He also worked with defensive backs at Oklahoma State (2012-14), Tulsa (2010-11), Texas A&M (2006-09), North Texas (2005), and Western Michigan (2004). He was a wide receivers coach at North Dakota State in 2003, so he has worked with both sides of the ball. He also coached special teams at Western Michigan and North Texas.
Malone has the experience needed to be a great candidate.
Birmingham Stallions Defensive Assistant Anthony Blevins
Blevins is not only currently coaching in Birmingham right now in the UFL, he has ties to the program and the area and has a good coaching resume.
A former XFL player, Blevins played at UAB and was a cornerbacks coach there in 2012. Since then, he was an assistant in several roles for the Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants focusing on special teams and defensive secondaries. He coached players like Pro Bowlers Justin Bethel, Budda Baker, and Michael Thomas.
In 2023, he took an offer to be the head coach of the XFL’s Vegas Vipers, but he never led the team during a season due to the UFL’s merger.
Blevins’ knowledge of the program and ability to recruit in the area should make him a potential candidate.
Western Kentucky Head Coach Tyson Helton
Helton has a good amount of experience at UAB. Not only did he coach there, his father, Kim, was once an assistant there. Helton also coached at UAB alongside current WKU defensive coordinator Tyson Summers and offensive coordinator Will Friend, so that could be a smooth transition for his staff if they decided to go to UAB as well.
Helton went into this season with a 40-26 record as WKU’s head coach. His background primarily involves offense. He began his coaching career at Hawaii as a graduate assistant in 2000 and worked with special teams the following three years.
He then coached tight ends and special teams at Memphis from 2004-06. The next five seasons, he coached quarterbacks at UAB and then focused on running backs there in 2012.
In 2013, he was a tight ends and special teams coach at Cincinnati. He coached at WKU for the first time from 2014-15 as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
He was also a QBs coach and a passing game coordinator at USC from 2016-17. He then became the offensive coordinator and a quarterbacks coach at Tennessee for one year before going back to WKU to be a head coach.
SMU Offensive Coordinator Casey Woods
Woods is a successful coordinator at a current Power Four school who has experience at UAB.
He was a tight ends coach, run game coordinator, and recruiting coordinator there for three years after the football program came back in 2016. The Blazers set several school records and put together some highly-regarded recruiting classes during his time there.
As for his tenure at SMU, the Mustangs were eighth in the FBS in scored points per game (38.7) and 16th in yards per game (454.9) in 2023, their last year in the AAC. SMU, which is now 6-1 as a member of the ACC, is 11th in the nation with 40.7 points per game scored after Week 8 of this season.
Woods has also been a tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Missouri. He coached wide receivers and was a recruiting coordinator at Arkansas State in 2012 when the Red Wolves went 10-3, earned a Sun Belt title, and won the GoDaddy.com Bowl.
If Woods is interested, UAB would be smart to consider him.
Alabama Tight Ends Coach Bryan Ellis
Ellis has an extensive resume and obviously has familiarity with the state of Alabama and UAB. He played quarterback there, passing for 2,940 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2010, and he was a graduate assistant for UAB after his playing career was over.
Last season, when Ellis was an offensive coordinator at Georgia Southern, the Eagles were in the top 50 in the country with 30.2 points and 419.5 yards per game. And that was a down year compared to the other teams he’s worked with.
In 2022, which was Ellis’ first as Georgia Southern’s OC and QBs coach, the Eagles were in the top 20 in the FBS with 466.7 yards per game and scored 32.7 points per contest.
Before that, Ellis was Western Kentucky’s co-offensive coordinator and inside receivers coach. In 2021, the Hilltoppers were second in the country with 44.2 points per game and 535.3 yards per game while leading the FBS with 433.7 passing yards per game.
He was WKU’s OC and quarterbacks coach from 2019-20 and was an assistant there from 2014-16. From 2017-18, he worked with quarterbacks at USC.
He’s only been at Alabama for less than a year. But if he were willing to leave for an FBS head coaching opportunity, UAB would be a good fit.
Lamar Head Coach Pete Rossomando
Rossomando hasn’t been at Lamar very long, but his tenure there has been impressive. He’s also been an interim head coach at a school that’s currently in the AAC.
In 2023, his first season as head coach of the Cardinals, the team had won a single game the previous year and just five games in the three seasons prior. Under Rossomando’s leadership, Lamar put together the fourth-biggest single-season turnaround in the FCS by going 6-5 overall.
Rossomando was a Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award finalist. And now this season, Lamar has appeared in the FCS Top 25 polls.
Rossomando has also briefly been an FBS head coach. He was an interim head coach at Charlotte in 2022, and the 49ers went 2-2 during that time. He was also an offensive line coach there.
Before that, he was an O-line coach at Vanderbilt in 2020 and at Rutgers in 2019. He was also a head coach at Central Connecticut State. He led that program to its first FCS playoffs appearance. He was also a head coach at the University of New Haven, which made the Division II playoffs twice during his tenure and was ranked as highly as No. 3 in the country.
Rossomando has the head coaching experience and FBS experience to be a candidate for any G5 program, including UAB.
