Trent Dilfer: "College football broke me."

Trent Dilfer will return to Tennessee’s Lipscomb Academy, a football program he guided to two championships in four years. It was an easy decision to make based on his experience as the head coach of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

“I’ve got some scars. I really do. I’m a much better man than I was when I left. I got truly broken by college football,” Dilfer shared with Outkick’s Jonathan Hutton during his appearance on ‘Hot Mic with Hutton and Withrow.’

Dilfer took over the UAB football program in 2023, replacing Bryant Vincent. The Blazers went 4-8 in their first season with Dilfer, 3-9 in 2024, and 2-4 this year before getting fired. UAB’s offensive coordinator, Alex Mortensen, replaced the former NFL quarterback.

In addition to losing 21 games in three seasons, the 1997 Pro Bowler shared his frustration about student-athletes who eventually transferred to other schools.

“We had 14 kids that I recruited, and we developed, and then you watch them go. You play them, and then they go to Ole Miss, Arkansas, Alabama, and everywhere else.”

While Trent Dilfer would have wished for a better ending, he sees a silver lining from his college football coaching stint. “Well, that’s part of growth. You gotta be broken and reshaped and molded.”

Conversely, the Super Bowl 35 champion with the Baltimore Ravens praised Lipscomb’s unwavering chase for excellence. “The one thing that’s great about Lipscomb is that they care about winning as much as I do. They are invested. I cannot say that about the last place I was at.”

Trent Dilfer led the Mustangs to back-to-back Tennessee high school football Division II Class AA state titles in 2020 and 2021, defeating Christ Presbyterian Academy in both instances. Lipscomb Academy had a 44-10 record in four seasons under him.