Six days ago, UAB fired former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Trent Dilfer as its head coach and replaced him with Alex Mortensen, the son of the late NFL reporter Chris Mortensen.

That looks like a very good move.

In Mortensen’s first game as UAB’s interim head coach, they pulled off a massive upset, beating the previously undefeated No. 22 Memphis, 31-24. UAB was a 24-point underdog heading into the game.

The 39-year-old Mortensen had never been a head coach before. He had been UAB’s offensive coordinator since 2023.

Before UAB hired him, Dilfer’s only previous coaching experience was at the high school level, and it showed during his tenure at UAB. Dilfer’s teams often looked unprepared, and he was fired after going 9-21 in two and a half seasons.

Mortensen had his team prepare

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