Joseph Goodman: Mortensen hire a major win for UAB

There aren’t many coaches who spend close to a decade at Alabama with Nick Saban.

There’s Kirby Smart, of course, and we all know how that story ended up. Smart has done pretty well for himself.

There’s another guy, too. Smart was a position coach and coordinator at Alabama for nine seasons before he took over at Georgia. Alex Mortensen was a grad assistant turned back-of-the-house “analyst” for Saban from 2014 to 2022. It was the better part of nine years. A five-year hustle with Saban is a lot for anyone. Pushing 10 for peanuts? That’s a might-long piece.

Mortensen, who is 37 years old, is now the new offensive coordinator for the UAB football team, and I couldn’t be happier for the Blazers and first-year coach Trent Dilfer. It’s a huge get for the Southside Dragons, and maybe the signal of a great next step in significance, too.

Here’s what I mean by that.

One of the first people to text Mortensen congratulating him on his big move from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham was Gordon Jones, the father of NFL and former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones. Jones is the star passer who led Alabama to arguably its best season of the Saban era. He developed into a first-round pick at Alabama. What did Gordon Jones say to Mortensen in that text? I talked to Gordon over the phone for this column. Great guy. Amazing dad.

Back in the day, Gordon Jones was a pro tennis player. His personal claim to fame? He once beat French Open champ turned internationally famous reggae star turned father of a basketball legend Yannick Noah.

“On clay,” Jones added.

It was during a tournament in South America.

“I later ran into Yannick in Paris and he recognized me and we laughed about our match,” Jones said.

What are the odds, right?

And now Jones is texting the new offensive coordinator at UAB and planning to carve out time to come watch the Blazers play in Birmingham. That’s how much the Jones family loves Mortensen. It will have to be on an off week for Mac, of course. Gordon says he has only missed three of Mac’s football games … his entire life.

“My text really was if Alex ever needs someone to talk to a parent and go through why UAB would be a great place for their kid, then we would be more than happy to do that,” Jones said.

That just makes me laugh a little. I mean, think about it: the dad of a famous Alabama quarterback recruiting for UAB.

“That’s the best way to recruit,” Jones said. “For people to hear from people. I couldn’t give [Mortensen] a more unequivocal endorsement.”

And then Jones followed up with this pronouncement about UAB: “I think it’s going to be a quarterback production factory. It’s going to be cool to see.”

What are the odds, right?

When UAB first hired Dilfer, I have to admit that I had questions about his ability to put together a staff. It’s not that I didn’t think Dilfer was capable or anything. It’s just that he had never been a coach at the collegiate level. UAB football is now high-profile with Dilfer as the coach, and a lot of eyes are going to be on the Blazers this season. Maybe possible assistants would shy away from that situation.

That’s what I thought, anyway, and then Dilfer landed Mortensen a few days after officially taking over on the Southside. For me, that was an endorsement in Dilfer’s ability as a coach. Mortensen has had a few options to leave Alabama for other positions through the years. He was waiting for the right opportunity at the right place.

Turns out, it was UAB, which until recently had an offensive philosophy that wasn’t far off from the old days of the SEC. And by old, I mean run on first down, run on second down and then punt on third down and play defense. Hey, don’t hate. Dana X. Bible and Bill Clark both won a lot of games without two things, hair and quarterbacks.

Times change, and the Blazers are finally growing up thanks to all that hard work by Clark. The Blazers join the American Athletic Conference next season, and they’re doing it with some of college football’s next generation of offensive innovators.

Dilfer and some of his new staffers are going to be at UAB’s basketball game at 3 p.m. on Saturday to meet fans. Bartow Arena is giving away some pretty cool basketball T-shirts, too. It should be a great day for UAB, but I think more are coming.

When it comes to local support and exposure, UAB football gets overshadowed by Alabama and Auburn. In the coaching community, though, UAB football is considered a rising power and gigs coaching the Blazers are becoming coveted positions. Offensive coordinator at UAB? That’s now considered a big-time job. Anyone who says otherwise is slow to understand how quickly college football is evolving these days.

Mortensen represents that evolution for the Blazers, and so do young new assistants like defensive line coach Miguel Patrick, who is a Southside Dragon by way of Ohio State. So is tight ends coach Reilly Jeffers. UAB quarterbacks coach Nick Coleman was an offensive analyst at South Carolina. UAB’s director of recruiting strategy is Abbye Brunson. She was a recruiting assistant at Florida for four years. UAB’s new director of player personnel is Connor Koch, who Dilfer plucked from Ole Miss.

This is a staff with SEC experience mixed with some no-nonsense UAB legends. Tristan Henderson, one of the players who helped save UAB football, is now the Blazers’ director of recruiting. Hindley Brigham, another rising star in the coaching profession, is back as UAB’s running backs assistant. Mortensen is the jewel of the staff, though. He is a relentless recruiter molded by the ways of Saban.

Dilfer was smart from the beginning to build a bridge between UAB football and Alabama. Old fans might not see it that way, but the weirdness between the two schools is beginning to fade. Good riddance. Now maybe the next step is getting a game scheduled. Don’t laugh. I don’t think it’s as crazy as it sounds.

Mortensen’s contributions to the success of Alabama’s offenses might be overlooked by casual fans, but people who understand how Alabama operates know the truth. Mortensen was always the glue between Saban’s many offensive coordinators. Mortensen made the game plans, and drilled the quarterbacks on knowing the offenses backwards and forwards. His knowledge for the game is unmatched for someone his age, and he’s a head coach in the making.

The biggest question for Mortensen will be during games. He has never called plays. How’s he going to handle that next step? Not sure, but it will be fun to watch. Tuscaloosa was his training ground, and Birmingham will be his blank canvas.

Joseph Goodman is a columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of “We Want Bama: A season of hope and the making of Nick Saban’s ‘ultimate team’”. You can find him on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.