Amidst Change, UAB Finds Inspiration Heading Into Memphis Game
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - October 16, 2025
Working through the disappointment of the loss at Florida Atlantic was on the agenda when the UAB football players showed up to the program’s building on Sunday afternoon. Not long after, though, the focus quickly changed to moving forward without Trent Dilfer as the team’s head coach.
By that time, Dilfer had already held a meeting with his coaches, closing it by saying he felt like they were going to beat nationally ranked Memphis on Saturday. It wasn’t until around 3:30 p.m. that Dilfer was informed by UAB athletics director Mark Ingram that a change was being made.
“I was up here for my academic check and then the coaches had a staff meeting out of nowhere,” said UAB defensive tackle Jonathan Allen.
Not long after, the players learned in a team meeting that Dilfer was no longer their head coach.
“It kind of hurt my feelings,” Allen said. “Even though we weren't winning and stuff, I had love for him on a personal level because he was one of the few coaches to give me a chance coming out of high school. There’s been rumblings. People have been calling for his head but it was a surprise when you when hear the news. It did kind of catch you off guard. You don't ever expect a coach to get fired during the middle season even though we had a couple tough losses and stuff. It still hurt my feelings to see someone that I cared for outside of football to get fired.”
No player on the roster has a longer relationship with Dilfer than quarterback Jalen Kitna, whose father, Jon, is a former NFL quarterback and longtime friend of Dilfer.
“Since (Sunday) I've got to have some communication with him and just want to thank him for all he's done for me,” Kitna said. “He's done so much here. I think a lot of people don't see how much that he's put into this program and it's our job to honor him with the way that we continue this season.”
That begins in practice this week as UAB prepares to play Memphis in the annual Children’s Harbor game, which also decides the Battles for the Bones on Saturday at Protective Stadium. On the surface, it looks like business as usual despite Dilfer not being there. The practice appeared to be formatted the same as always. But it was interim head coach Alex Mortensen and associate head coach Lyle Henley delivering the post-practice message.
“Yes, you can understand like his presence is not there,” Perez said. “But the standard that he put, you still have the same staff, you still have the same people. So the standard that he put in place before the season started that we all bough into is there. We bought into this is brotherhood, unbreakable brotherhood. We started in January and that's not gonna change now because something happened, some adversity happens. The idea that we got together as a team, that's still going to hold strong for us.”
UAB running back Isaiah Jacobs said Dilfer’s message still rings loudly in the players’ ears even though he is not on the field with them.
“When something that randomly happens, it's a kind of like a blow to the team,” Jacobs said. “But he also set a foundation in us to do hard things and to do it consistently. And when we face adversity to be able to push through. So this is literally us doing one of the things that he taught us, you know, by pushing through this adversity and preparing for Memphis.”
Extra motivation is not needed in a week that includes playing for the Children’s Harbor kids in a rivalry game. But the UAB players have yet another reason to be motivated.
“It inspires you,” Perez said. “We were not playing our best ball, in every aspect of football. But it’s kind of a wakeup call. It is and it isn’t, but it makes you feel like people’s jobs are on the line, a coaching staff that we care about. We want to play for them because how much they pour into us. I’m no longer with a coach that’s believed in me since I got here. I want to be able to play for him because gave me this opportunity to be here in the first place.”