Mortensen Brings Hindley Brigham back to UAB Staff

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - December 30, 2025

Hindley Brigham, who was the position coach for the top three career rushing leaders in UAB history, is returning to the UAB staff after spending last season at Louisiana Monroe.

Brigham established himself as one of the country’s top running backs during his time at UAB. He recruited, mentored and developed Spencer Brown, Dewayne McBride and Jermaine Brown as they became the top three on UAB’s list of career rushing yardage leaders. He also helped turn Lee Beebe Jr. from a walk-on running back to the team’s rushing leader in 2024. Beebe left as the program’s 12th career rushing leader when he transferred to Indiana.

Brigham came to UAB in 2016 to serve as an analyst while the Blazers worked toward getting back on the field. He was elevated to running back coach in 2017 and played a big role in the best years in UAB football history. Spencer Brown was a Freshman All-American and Conference USA Freshman of the Year in 2017 after rushing for 1,329 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Blazers finished eighth nationally in rushing offense, averaging 235.6 yards per game in 2022. McBride finished with a national-best 1,713 yards in 11 regular season games. He led the nation in rushing yards per game at 155.7, which was nearly 17 yards more than any other running back.

The Mountain Brook native was the last member of the 2017 assistant coaching staff to leave the program. Lyle Henley, the football director of sports performance, and head athletic trainer for football Dan Springer are the only two staff members who have been with the program from the return of football until today.

This past season at ULM, Brigham served as the running game coordinator as well as running back coach under former UAB offensive coordinator and interim head coach Bryant Vincent. The Warhawks finished 62nd in the country in rushing offense, averaging 163.1 yards per game, and had two running backs – Zach Palmer-Smith and Braylon McReynolds – gain over 630 yards on the ground.

UAB has not officially announced the hire and it is unclear what role Brigham will have on the staff. Danny Mitchell, who has been with the program since December of 2022, served as UAB’s running back coach and run game coordinator this past season. Mitchell was a Senior Offensive Analyst during his first two seasons at UAB.