For two years, Alex Mortensen was engineer of some of UAB’s most consistent offense that “established multiple school records along the way.”

In two seminal games after being named UAB’s interim coach midway through the 2025 season, Mortensen proved his big-picture leadership ability in an upset-win of then-No. 22 Memphis and to cap the season last Saturday at Tulsa — a game in which approximately 40 UAB players elected to sit out after a player attacked and stabbed a teammate and injured another one in a knife attack.

Now, 10 days shy of the two-month anniversary of Trent Dilfer’s firing and Mortensen’s ascension to the interim post, he’s getting his chance to be UAB’s next head coach.

Sources tell FootballScoop that the Blazers are tabbing Mortensen into the permanent position after 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 Holz. 

UAB Athletics Director swung for the proverbial fences with an unconventional but intriguing hire of Dilfer four years ago when Ingram snagged Dilfer from the Nasvhille-area prep powerhouse the former Super Bowl-winning quarterback had curated at Lipscomb Academy.

But Dilfer never delivered a winning season, and he was fired Oct. 12 — with a salary of nearly $1.5 million and almost $3 million left on his buyout.

Despite limited financial resources, UAB has vastly upgraded its facilities — a new home stadium, new football operations center and indoor practice area in recent years under Ingram’s guidance — and posted six consecutive winning seasons from 2017-22.

The first five were under Bill Clark, who abruptly retired in summer 2022 and Bryant Vincent took over as the interim.

Blazers officials then elected to hire Dilfer while Vincent departed to become head coach at Louisiana-Monroe. 

Wednesday marked the opening of the NCAA’s Early Signing Period for Class of 2026 prospects; it runs through Friday.

The first-time single-window NCAA Transfer Portal is open Jan. 2-16, 2026.

UAB is scheduled to open its 2026 season Sept. 5 at Bret Bielema’s Illinois program.Â