Trent Dilfer Appoints Matt McCants UAB Offensive Line Coach

Photo Credit - © Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Trent Dilfer and the UAB Blazers football program have announced the appointment of Matt McCants to the position of offensive line coach.

Matt McCants' Playing Career

McCants is a Blazer offensive line alumnus. He earned a criminal justice degree with a minor in theater. During his playing career at UAB, McCants was twice named a first-team All-Conference USA offensive lineman. His excellent collegiate performance led to a career in the NFL. The New York Giants drafted him in the sixth round (No. 201 overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft. After his time with the Giants, McCants went on to play for three other teams in his seven-year NFL career, including the Oakland Raiders, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. Coach Dilfer also played for the Browns, although not contemporaneously with McCants.

McCants' football career did not end after the NFL, as he spent one season with the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football League and a COVID-19-shortened stint with the Xtreme Football League’s St. Louis Battlehawks in 2020.

McCants is no stranger to the UAB football program. Not only did he spend time at the university as a student and player, but he has also been with the team since 2021 as an assistant coach. He became the team's strength and conditioning coach in 2022 before transitioning last season to the position of director of character development—a role for which he is uniquely well-suited in light of his illustrious playing career predominantly in the sport's most prominent league.

Dilfer's Glowing Endorsement

In declaring McCants' most recent promotion, Dilfer stated, “I am so honored to announce one of the all-time great Blazers, Matt McCants, as our new offensive line coach." As the leader of the UAB football program, coach Dilfer noted his responsibility to surround the Blazers' student-athletes with high-character men, the best coaches and effective recruiters. Dilfer said McCants fits the bill in each of these categories. Dilfer added, "If our players develop into the type of men and football players that coach McCants did while at UAB and in the NFL, then we are all winning on and off the field!"