UAB Names Son of Late ESPN Analyst Its Permanent Head Football Coach

Alex Mortensen will try to get the Blazers back on track.

Alex Mortensen went 2-4 with UAB this year. / David Butler II-Imagn Images

UAB reportedly has a new permanent head coach, and he will be a familiar name to anyone who watched ESPN during the network's glory years.

The Blazers are naming interim coach Alex Mortensen their permanent head coach, according to a Thursday afternoon report from ESPN's Pete Thamel. Mortensen, 40, is the son of longtime ESPN NFL analyst Chris Mortensen.

Alex, 40, took over UAB after the Oct. 12 firing of coach Trent Dilfer. He led the team to a 2-4 record that included a 31–24 upset of then-No. 22 Memphis; the back half of the team's season, however, was overshadowed by a Blazers player allegedly stabbing two teammates before the team's Nov. 18 game against South Florida. The team finished 4-8 for its third straight losing season—a first for the program since it weathered nine straight losing seasons from 2005 to '13.

Before joining UAB's staff, Alex Mortensen worked at points for the St. Louis Rams and Alabama. He played collegiately for Arkansas and Samford.

The Blazers are scheduled to open their 2026 season on Sept. 5 at Illinois.

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