Trent Dilfer - Football Coach

Trent Dilfer

Title:
Head Coach

As of March, 2025:

UAB Director of Athletics Mark Ingram named 14-year NFL veteran quarterback and Super Bowl XXXV Champion Trent Dilfer as UAB Football’s seventh head coach in program history on Nov. 30, 2022. Dilfer is in his third year coaching the Blazers.

In his first two seasons as head coach, the Blazers have shattered offensive records which is highlighted by setting the single season school record for yards per game (450.0) in 2023 and boasting UAB’s second-ever FWAA Freshman All-America honoree in 2024.

In 2023, Record-setting quarterback Jacob Zeno led the charge as Dilfer guided Zeno to the most prolific single season by a UAB quarterback in school history. Zeno set the school record for single season completions (279) and completion percentage (73.6) and threw for the second most yards in a season (3,126). Zeno was one of the top quarterbacks in the nation and finished the season ranked second nationally in completion percentage, seventh in completions per game (25.4), 11th in total offense (299.5) and 14th in passing yards per game (284.2).

Dilfer also led Jermaine Brown Jr. to new heights as Brown Jr. led the American Athletic Conference in all-purpose yards per game (129.1). Brown Jr. set the UAB school record for most career all-purpose yards (5,026) and he became just the third running back in school history to have over 3,000 career rushing yards.

In 2024, wide receiver/punt returner Kam Shanks was named a FWAA Freshman All-America honoree for leading the nation in punt return yards (329), average (20.6) and touchdowns (2), while also adding 62 catches for 656 yards and six touchdowns.

Additionally, in just eight starts at quarterback, Jalen Kitna threw for the 10th most touchdowns in a single season at UAB (17) and averaged 276.1 passing yards per game (2,209) while completing 62 percent of his passes.

Prior to UAB, Dilfer spent four years as the head coach of Lipscomb Academy in Nashville (2019-22) where he led the Mustangs to back-to-back TSSAA D2-AA State Championship titles. Dilfer compiled an overall record of 44-10 in his four years and a mark of 26-1 in the last two seasons.

Dilfer was selected sixth overall in the 1994 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and threw for 20,518 yards and 113 touchdowns during his 14-year career. In 2000, he led the Baltimore Ravens to a 34-7 victory over the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1997 and was the recipient of the Bart Starr Award and Ed Block Courage Award in 2003.

In 2008, Dilfer began a nine-year broadcasting career as an analyst on ESPN for a variety of programs, including Monday Night Countdown and NFL Primetime. He was nominated for a Sports Emmy in 2012 for Outstanding Sports Personality in the Studio Analyst category.

Dilfer also helped establish the Elite 11 Academy which began in 2009 and was launched to train elite-level high school quarterbacks. His alumni include 27 of the 32 current NFL starting quarterbacks and 14 of the past 15 Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks. Currently, 60 of the 64 Power 5 starting quarterbacks in 2022 attended the Elite 11 Finals or Elite 11 Regional.

Dilfer attended Fresno State where he was the starting quarterback and was named the WAC Offensive Player of the Year in 1993 after throwing for 3,799 yards and 30 touchdowns. Following his junior season, Dilfer declared for the NFL Draft, forgoing his senior season.

Dilfer and his wife Cassandra have three daughters, Maddie, Tori and Delaney, and a son Trevin, who passed away in 2003.