Trent Dilfer
Trent Farris Dilfer (born March 13, 1972 in Santa Cruz, California) is a former NFL quarterback and television sports analyst, and the current head football coach for the UAB Blazers football team.
Dilfer attended Aptos High School in Aptos, California and then enrolled at California State University, Fresno. In his junior year with the Bulldogs he was the national leader in pass efficiency and set an NCAA record with 271 pass attempts without an interception. He won the Sammy Baugh Trophy for top collegiate passer, and was named "Offensive Player of the Year" in the Western Athletic Conference.
Dilfer was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 6th pick in the 1994 NLF Draft. He was made started in his second year with the Bucs, but was unable to maintain his efficiency as a passer, scoring only 4 touchdowns against 18 interceptions. He steadily improved the next two years, reaching a touchdown to interception ratio of 21:11 in 1997, and leading the team to their first playoff appearance since 1982. Dilfer was injured in week 10 of the 1999 season and signed a one-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens during the offseason, where he was slotted as a back-up to starting quarterback Tony Banks.
Dilfer was promoted ahead of banks mid-way through the 2000 season and led the Ravens to a 7-1 record through the remainder of the season, followed by a 3-0 run through the playoffs as a wild card, and a 34–7 victory over the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV. Despite his success, Dilfer was not re-signed as the Ravens made free agent Elvis Grbac their new starter.
Dilfer was signed by the Seattle Seahawks and traded starting duties with Matt Hasselbeck until suffering two serious injuries in 2002. In 2005 he started 11 games for the Cleveland Browns before being replaced by Derek Anderson. He spent the 2006 and 2007 seasons on the roster of the San Francisco 49ers before retiring in 2008.
From 2008 to 2017 Dilfer worked as an NFL analyst for ESPN, followed be one more season with Fox Sports 1. He also served as head coach of the "Elite 11" high school quarterback competition held each year in Beaverton, Oregon.
In 2019 Dilfer was hired as head football coach for Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, Tennessee. Over four seasons, his Mustangs teams improved from 5-5 to 13-0 and won two straight Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Division II Class AA championships.
Dilfer and his wife, Cassandra, reside in Saratoga, California. They have three daughters; Maddie, Tori and Delaney; who have all played college volleyball. Their son, Tevin, died at age five from heart disease in 2003.
In November 2022, UAB Athletic Director Mark Ingram announced that Dilfer had accepted his offer to succeed Bill Clark as head coach of the UAB Blazers. Dilfer had been suggested by Jim Cavale, CEO of INFLCR, and rapidly rose to the top of Ingram's list after a telephone conversation.
| Preceded by: Bryant Vincent (interim) |
UAB Blazers football head coach 2022– |
Succeeded by: current |
References
- "QB Dilfer Announces Retirement." (July 9, 2008) The Washington Post
- Scarborough, Alex (November 30, 2022) "New UAB coach Trent Dilfer: CFP a 'giant mountain,' but one we should talk about." ESPN.com
- Kreager, Tom (January 18, 2019) "Former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer named next Lipscomb Academy football coach". The Tennessean
- Zenor, John (December 1, 2022) "UAB hires ex-NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer as head coach" Associated Press / WBHM.org
- Goodman, (December 2, 2022) "Thank World Games for Trent Dilfer." AL.com
- "Trent Dilfer" (December 8, 2022) Wikipedia - accessed December 13, 2022