Another former NFLer, ESPN talking head turned high school coach gets a promotion

Former longtime NFL player? Check. Talking head on the Worldwide Leader? Check. High school football coach? Check.

Trent Dilfer is seemingly following in Jeff Saturday’s footsteps, albeit not at the highest level.

While the former Colts center recently became the interim head coach of his old franchise, Dilfer, the journeyman quarterback, and Super Bowl winner with the Baltimore Ravens — because of the defense — is set to be named the head football coach at UAB.

The Blazers currently sit fourth in Conference USA with a 6-6 record.

For the past four years, Dilfer has been the head coach at Lipscomb Academy (Nashville) — his lone coaching experience. He’s led the school to a 38-8 record, and was caught on video yelling and shoving a player.

He announced his departure a day before his team was set to play in a state championship game, according to Brad Schultz, the school’s director, who released a statement Wednesday:

“A few moments ago, Coach Trent Dilfer met with members of the high school football team to let them know that he is stepping down as head coach of the program,” director Brad Schultz wrote. “Later today, the University of Alabama-Birmingham is officially announcing the appointment of Coach Dilfer as the head coach of the UAB Blazers. The timing of this release is not ideal with the Div II-AA State Championship game tomorrow. But, because the information was leaked overnight and is being reported in national media, we needed to share this news with our community. We are coordinating with the UAB athletics department on the timing of the official public announcement, which will take place later today. We intend to keep the focus on our student-athletes and support them as they head to Chattanooga today in preparation for the championship game tomorrow.”

Dilfer was the No. 6 overall pick in the 1994 draft. During his 13-year career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Ravens, Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns, and San Francisco 49ers, he threw for 20,518 yards, 113 TDs, and 129 INTs.

I guess we’ll see how his style works at the collegiate level.