The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Director of Character Development
- Phone:
- 975-9536
Matt McCants enters his third season as UAB’s offensive line coach in 2026 and his sixth overall year with the Blazers.
In his second season leading the offensive line in 2025, McCants helped guide a unit that started four offensive linemen in at least 10 games: Adam Lepkowski, JonDarius Morgan, Brandon Sneh and Logan Moore. The group helped UAB average 404.3 yards of total offense per game, including 265.6 passing yards and 138.7 rushing yards per contest. The Blazers also rushed for 20 touchdowns during the season.
In McCants’ first season coaching the offensive line in 2024, the Blazers averaged 392.5 yards of offense per game. The unit was led by two-time Rimington Trophy nominee Brady Wilson, who started every game at center and finished with the nation’s fourth-highest offensive grade among centers according to Pro Football Focus.
McCants, who played offensive line for the Blazers and was selected in the 2012 NFL Draft, has been with the program since 2021.
McCants returned to the Green and Gold as a volunteer assistant coach in 2021 before serving as a strength and conditioning coach in 2022. He was elevated to Director of Character Development in 2023 before being promoted to offensive line coach in July 2024.
A two-time First Team All-Conference USA selection during his playing career, McCants was selected by the New York Giants in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft and went on to spend seven seasons in the NFL with the Giants, Raiders, Bears and Browns.
In 2019, McCants played for the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football and later joined the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL in 2020.
McCants graduated from UAB in 2011 with a degree in criminal justice and a minor in theater. He and his wife, Alowe, have one son, Sam.
