UAB’s new interim head coach didn’t hide the emotion. Standing at the podium less than a day after Trent Dilfer’s dismissal, Alex Mortensen spoke softly, paused often, and tried to steady himself in front of a room that felt equal parts shock and support.
“Certainly didn’t expect to be in this position right now,” Mortensen began. “A lot of this will be off the cuff. Just bear with me.”
He thanked Dilfer for bringing him to Birmingham, calling him “a good coach who really cared about our players”. Then he pivoted to the man whose voice still guides him, even if it now echoes only in memory.
“I’ve thought about my dad a lot, I think about him every day,” Mortensen said. “Father-son relationships can be weird. Some people don’t know their father. Some don’t have the best relationship. I hit the lottery. I had an awesome dad.”
“Every day that goes by, I go, man, what would my dad think about this right now? What would he tell me to do here? This situation is no different.”
Chris Mortensen, the late ESPN icon, covered decades of football’s biggest stories. Now his son writes one of his own, with the same steadiness and humility that made his father beloved.
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Mortensen made sure to redirect attention back to his players.
“This thing isn’t about me,” he said. “It’s about doing a really good job for the university, for the program, and for our players, and doing it the right way for them.”
Unity, effort, and pride became his themes “If they can buy into each other, that’s more powerful than anything,” he said. “The name on the front of the jersey matters. The name on the back matters, too.”
As the Blazers prepare for Memphis and the annual Children’s Harbor Game, their new coach understands the weight of both names, Mortensen and UAB, and what it means to carry them with grace.
“We’ve got a lot to play for,” he said. “And we’re going to try to represent this program with pride, toughness, and discipline…and go compete.”