Trent Dilfer Dilfer was 9-21 in 2 1/2 seasons as University of Alabama Birmingham coach.
Trent Dilfer Dilfer was 9-21 in 2 1/2 seasons as University of Alabama Birmingham coach.Mike Buscher/Associated Press
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer was fired as the University of Alabama Birmingham’s coach Sunday, a day after the Blazers fell to 2-4 with a 53-33 loss at Florida Atlantic.
UAB has lost three straight, leaving it 9-21 in 2½ seasons under Dilfer. The Blazers were 4-8 in 2023 and 3-9 last year.
“We agree that — unfortunately — our on-field performance has not lived up to the standard of winning we have for the program,” athletic director Mark Ingram said in a statement.
Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Alex Mortensen will serve as interim coach. He’s the son of late NFL analyst Chris Mortensen.
Dilfer spent 14 seasons in the NFL, winning the Super Bowl with Baltimore in the 2000 season.
Oregon State fires Bray
Oregon State fired coach Trent Bray after the team fell to 0-7, its worst start to a season since 1991.
Robb Akey will be the interim head coach for the rest of the season pending a national search for Bray’s successor, athletic director Scott Barnes said.
The move came a day after backup quarterback Deshawn Purdie threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns in his first start for Wake Forest and the visiting Demon Deacons beat Oregon State, 39-14, in front of a listless home crowd. The Beavers haven’t started this poorly since 1991, when they began 0-10.
Akey, 59, is a veteran coach with experience in college and as an NFL assistant.
Bray, who played linebacker for Oregon State in 2002-05, took over as coach in November 2023 after Jonathan Smith left the Beavers for Michigan State.
The Beavers went 5-7 in 2024 under Bray and defeated the conference’s only other remaining Pac-12 member, Washington State. A new, rebuilt Pac-12 will launch next season.