Alex Mortensen, the son of late ESPN NFL reporter Chris Mortensen, was named interim head coach of the UAB Dragons earlier this season after former head coach and ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer was fired.
Now, the school is removing the interim tag and hiring him full-time.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the school will name Mortensen as its new head coach following a 4-8 season that ended with a 31-24 win over Tulsa. The Dragons also defeated then-No. 22 Memphis in Mortensen’s first game as interim head coach.
Mortensen also had to navigate the situation surrounding a violent pregame incident at a UAB facility where one of his players allegedly stabbed two teammates with a knife on campus. The two injured players were released from the hospital soon after.
According to FootballScoop, the school did a “voluminous search that featured candidates from Alabama native and Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor to Navy offensive coordinator Drew Cronic to Presbyterian’s Steve Englehart to Skip Holtz.”
Mortensen, 40, was a successful college quarterback who played one season in the NFL, while his father continued to work as a reporter at ESPN. Later, he worked under Nick Saban at Alabama before becoming UAB’s offensive coordinator in 2023. He coached under Dilfer for two-plus seasons before he was fired.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.