Blog Article

Trent Dilfer Has A 7-17 Record At UAB. Here’s Why His $3.6 Million Buyout Won’t Save His Job In 2025

Mark Haines on August 19, 2025

Here’s what nobody wants to say out loud.

Trent Dilfer is coaching for his job at UAB. And based on two years of evidence, he’s going to lose it. The numbers don’t lie. A 7-17 record. A .292 winning percentage. Zero road wins in 24 months. And a hot seat rating of 0.715 that has him ranked as the fifth most endangered coach in college football.

This isn’t speculation.

This is math.

The Problem With Hiring Names Instead Of Coaches

Athletic Director Mark Ingram made a classic mistake in 2022.

He got starstruck. Instead of promoting interim coach Bryant Vincent—who had just led UAB to a 7-6 record—Ingram chased the shiny object. He wanted the former NFL quarterback. The Super Bowl winner. The ESPN analyst with name recognition.

“I’m not hiring a high school football coach,” Ingram said at the time. “I’m hiring the number six overall pick in the NFL draft.”

Wrong.

You were hiring a high school football coach who happened to be a former NFL player. And there’s a massive difference between those two things. The irony? Bryant Vincent—the guy Ingram passed over—is now coaching Louisiana Monroe to potential bowl eligibility. Meanwhile, Dilfer’s UAB team got obliterated 32-6 by Vincent’s Warhawks to open the 2024 season.

That’s not just bad luck.

That’s institutional malpractice.

When The Numbers Tell The Whole Story

Here’s how badly things have collapsed under Dilfer.

2023 to 2024 regression:

Passing accuracy: 71.7% → 63.7% (catastrophic)
Total offense: 450 yards/game → 392.5 yards/game
Rushing: 161.1 yards/game → 130.9 yards/game
Turnovers per game: 1.7 → 2.1

You don’t accidentally get worse at this many things. This is a systematic failure. The defense was even more brutal. UAB allowed 212.9 rushing yards per game in 2024—among the worst in the country. They gave up 34.2 points per game and finished 120th in scoring defense.

Six different opponents ran for more than 190 yards against them.

That’s not a personnel problem. That’s a coaching problem.

The Hail Mary

Dilfer knows he’s drowning.

So he’s throwing everything at the wall. New defensive coordinator Steve Russ brings legitimate credibility—two Super Bowl rings and six years of NFL coaching experience. The entire defensive staff was rebuilt with over 40 years of combined NFL experience.

Through the transfer portal, 19 players left, but 13+ new faces arrived:

Quarterback Ryder Burton from West Virginia
Running back Jevon Jackson from UTEP
Wide receiver Kaleb Brown from Iowa

When you flip half your roster in one offseason, you’re not building a program.

You’re admitting the previous two years were a complete waste of time.

The Tone-Deaf Moments That Define Him

But here’s what shows you who Trent Dilfer is as a coach.

After a September loss, he dismissed criticism by saying, “It’s not like this is freakin’ Alabama.” Think about that for a second. Your job is to build excitement around your program. Your job is to sell hope to your fanbase. And instead, you’re publicly lowering expectations and making excuses.

Even worse? On a UAB-produced podcast, Dilfer promoted Louisville’s volleyball program—where his daughter played—over UAB’s volleyball team. At the same time, his own Athletic Director tried to defend UAB’s program on the same podcast.

That’s not just tone-deaf.

That’s sabotage.

The Math On His Future

Oddsmakers set UAB’s win total at 4.5 games for 2025.

The under is favored. Most national previews have UAB finishing 13th out of 14 teams in the AAC. The schedule includes Tennessee, Memphis, Army, and Navy—teams that will expose every weakness.

To reach bowl eligibility, UAB needs to double its 2024 win total. Based on two years of evidence, that’s not happening. The financial reality makes it worse. UAB owes Dilfer $3.6 million if they fire him after 2025, dropping to $2.4 million after the season.

But keeping a failing coach to save money is how programs die.

Why This Matters Beyond UAB

This is a cautionary tale about the modern college football hiring process.

UAB had a program with momentum. Bill Clark had built something special before health issues forced his resignation. Bowl games. Competitive teams. Hope. Dilfer inherited a functional program and systematically destroyed it through inexperience and poor judgment.

The lesson?

Past playing success doesn’t translate to coaching success
Name recognition doesn’t win games
When you hire someone for the wrong reasons, you get predictable results

The Verdict

Trent Dilfer will coach the 2025 season at UAB.

But he won’t coach the 2026 season. The comprehensive staff changes and roster overhaul might buy him a few extra wins. But fundamentally, nothing has changed. He’s still the same coach who has never won a road game in college football.

Athletic Director Mark Ingram will eventually have to admit his mistake.

The question isn’t if—it’s when. UAB fans deserve better than watching their program become a cautionary tale. They deserve better than a coach who publicly diminishes their school while collecting a $1.3 million salary.

The 2025 season will be Trent Dilfer’s last at UAB.

Everyone knows it, including him.

The clock isn’t just ticking. It’s about to expire.

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Blog Article

Temple Football 2025: The K.C. Keeler Rebuild Begins Now

Mark Haines on April 3, 2025

Temple football is about to experience the most dramatic transformation in program history.

After a disastrous 3-9 campaign that saw a season-ending coaching change and statistical rankings that would make any Owls fan cringe, Temple University is betting big on championship-winning coach K.C. Keeler to resurrect a program that finished 114th out of 134 teams nationally in 2024. The Pennsylvania native returns to his home state with national championships from Delaware (2003) and Sam Houston State (2020) on his resume—and a reputation for program revival that Temple desperately needs.

But the question every Temple fan is asking is: How quickly can Keeler turn this program around?

The Championship Coach Returns Home

K.C. Keeler isn’t just any coaching hire—he’s a proven program builder with deep Pennsylvania roots.

The Emmaus native brings three decades of coaching experience to North Broad Street, with successful tenures at Rowan (1993-2001), Delaware (2002-2012), and Sam Houston State (2014-2024). His most recent accomplishment? Leading Sam Houston to a respectable 9-3 record in 2024 after capturing an FCS National Championship with the program in 2020.

What makes Keeler particularly intriguing for Temple is his reputation for effectively recruiting the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions—precisely the talent pools Temple must tap to rebuild.

The championship DNA has arrived in Philadelphia.

The Complete Staff Overhaul You Didn’t See Coming

Keeler isn’t bringing a few assistants with him—he’s orchestrating a total staff revolution.

The new Temple coaching blueprint includes:

Tyler Walker as offensive coordinator (from Montana State)
Brian Smith as defensive coordinator (from Rice)
Special Teams Coordinator Brian Ginn (former Sam Houston offensive consultant)
Offensive Line Coach Al Johnson (Montana State)
Running Backs Coach Andrew Pierce (Delaware)
Wide Receivers Coach Roy Roundtree (Miami University-Ohio)
Tight Ends Coach Chris Zarkoskie (James Madison)
Pass Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks Coach Henry Baker (Marshall)
Defensive Line Coach Cedric Calhoun (Rice)
Linebackers Coach Keith Dudzinski (UMass)
Outside Linebackers Coach Chris Raitano (Monmouth)

This complete teardown and rebuild of the coaching staff signals that the culture and systems that produced 3-9 are being entirely replaced.

The Transfer Portal Cavalry Has Arrived

If you thought the coaching changes were dramatic, wait to see how Keeler is rebuilding the roster.

The transfer portal has become Keeler’s primary weapon for immediate roster improvement, with several key additions that could transform the 2025 team:

Offensive game-changers:

RB Jay Ducker follows Keeler from Sam Houston, bringing a 5’10”, 205-pound frame and the potential to rejuvenate a rushing attack that ranked a miserable 124th nationally.
RB Johnny Martin (Stony Brook) adds much-needed depth to the backfield.
WR Ian Stewart brings graduate transfer experience and a 6’3″, 215-pound frame to a passing game that was surprisingly productive (276.7 ypg, 25th nationally) despite overall offensive struggles.

Defensive reinforcements:

LB Ty Davis (Delaware) headlines a linebacker overhaul aimed at fixing a run defense that surrendered an abysmal 198.3 yards per game (128th nationally).
LB Jayvant Brown (Kentucky) adds Power Five experience to the defense.
LB Willy Love (Monmouth) provides additional depth at a critical position.
DB Avery Powell (Missouri State) and Jaylen Castleberry (Youngstown State) bring experience to a secondary that needs significant improvement.

The transfer portal strategy reveals Keeler’s pragmatic approach to rebuilding—addressing immediate needs with experienced transfers while developing high school recruits for long-term program stability.

The Quarterback Question Nobody Can Answer

Who will lead the Temple offense in 2025?

With Chris Dietrich transferring to Bucknell, redshirt senior Evan Simon (6’3″, 205 lbs) from Manheim Central emerges as the presumptive starter, but his collegiate experience remains limited. The development of a reliable signal-caller represents perhaps the most critical factor in Temple’s offensive resurgence.

Interestingly, Temple’s passing attack was a relatively bright spot in 2024, averaging 276.7 yards per game (25th nationally). But can the new staff maintain this aerial productivity while dramatically improving a ground game that mustered just 96.3 yards per game?

The quarterback room will determine whether Temple’s offensive transformation happens in months or years.

The Statistical Reality Check Nobody Wants to Hear

The numbers from 2024 reveal just how massive Keeler’s rebuilding project truly is.

Temple’s statistical profile looks like a program in desperate need of comprehensive reinvention:

Scoring offense: 19.6 points per game (121st nationally)
Scoring defense: 35.4 points per game (124th nationally)
Rushing offense: 96.3 yards per game (124th nationally)
Rushing defense: 198.3 yards per game (128th nationally)

Most concerning was Temple’s complete inability to establish the run or stop opponents’ ground games—fundamental football failures that must be addressed before any meaningful program turnaround can occur.

These aren’t just bad numbers; they’re program-identity-crisis numbers.

The Realistic Timeline For Temple’s Resurrection

Patience will be essential for Temple supporters accustomed to football disappointment.

While Keeler’s championship pedigree provides hope for the program’s long-term trajectory, the statistical deficiencies from 2024 suggest that immediate, dramatic improvement to conference contention is unlikely. At both Delaware and Sam Houston State, Keeler demonstrated an ability to build championship-caliber programs, but those transformations weren’t instantaneous.

Success in 2025 should be measured by:

Establishing a clear team identity on both sides of the ball
Meaningful statistical improvements, particularly in rushing offense and defense
Competitive performances against AAC opponents
Continued roster development through transfers and improved recruiting
Tangible progress toward bowl eligibility, even if that benchmark isn’t reached immediately

The 2025 season represents the foundation-laying phase of Temple’s resurrection project—establishing culture, implementing systems, and creating the infrastructure for sustainable success.

For a program that has experienced brief flashes of relevance interspersed with extended periods of struggle, Keeler’s arrival offers something missing on North Broad Street: legitimate hope backed by championship credentials.

The Keeler era has officially begun.

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