The pipeline of former NFL players to high-profile head-coaching jobs without much high-level experience continues to grow.
Former quarterback Trent Dilfer reportedly is expected to become the next head coach at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN.com.
Dilfer, who worked for ESPN after his playing career ended, has served as a high-school coach in Tennessee for the past four years. His team at Lipscomb Academy currently is 12-0. It will play in a state championship game on Thursday.
Dilfer was the sixth overall pick in the 1994 draft, by the Buccaneers. He made it to the Pro Bowl in 1997, and he won a Super Bowl with the defense-heavy Ravens in 2000. He also played for the Seahawks, Browns, and 49ers.
Dilfer created a stir in August 2021 after video surfaced of Dilfer putting hands on a player and physically moving him backward on the sidelines of a game. It sparked a spirited debate as to whether Dilfer was in the right, or in the wrong.
It clearly didn’t deter the folks at UAB from hiring the former NFL quarterback who has no coaching experience beyond his four years of coaching high-school football.