Trent Dilfer's Former High School Targets 11-Time NFL Pro Bowler As His Replacement
It was quite the surprise when Trent Dilfer left Lipscomb Academy for UAB. The former first round NFL Draft pick and Super Bowl champion saw a large amount of success in Nashville, but has no experience coaching in college and a jump to Conference USA is rather significant.
Whether it works out on the next level or not, Dilfer is gone. The Mustangs need a new head football coach and cannot afford a drop off.
Lipscomb Academy, a small, private Christian school with an enrollment of about 1,500, has seen a lot of success on the gridiron in recent years. It was not very good before Dilfer's arrival.
The Mustangs went 1-10 in 2017 and 2-9 in 2018. Dilfer arrived in 2019.
They won seven games in his first season, rattled off 11-straight wins after starting 0-2 in his second season, and went 13-1 en route to a state championship in year three. In 2022, L.A. did not lose.
Dilfer and the 'Stangs went 13-0, out-scored opponents 587-93 and won a second-straight state title.
Lipscomb was so dominant in Dilfer's tenure that it is moving up a division next year.
And there is no shortage of money within the program.
Dilfer's salary was not made public, but he was believed to earn somewhere in the ballpark of $150,000 per year. Just to coach football.*
Obviously, that number is rather enticing for his potential replacements.
Who will replace Trent Dilfer at Lipscomb Academy?
According to an initial report by John Brice of FootballScoop, which OutKick can confirm, Lipscomb Academy has another high-profile replacement to step into the head coaching role. Jason Witten.
Witten, an 11-time Pro Bowler, two-time First-Team All-Pro, 2012 NFL Man of the Year, and former Tennessee Volunteer spent 18 years with the Cowboys and one year with the Raiders. He recently wrapped his second year as the head football coach at Liberty Christian School in Argyle, Texas.
For Witten to return home to Tennessee would make a lot of sense for both sides. Not only is he a big-name hire from the state, with Christian values, he has already proved that he can win.
It is a small sample size, but Liberty Christian went 2-8 in Witten's first year. It won 10 games and reached the second round of the Texas State Playoffs in his second season at the helm.
That's a quick, significant turnaround.
Lipscomb officials flew to Dallas last week to meet with Witten. They plan to fly him to Nashville next week to try and seal the deal. It is his job if he wants it and the hope is that a visit to see the facilities and the area will help to get ink on the paper.
The Mustangs quickly became a powerhouse under Dilfer, finishing the 2022 season ranked as high as No. 14 nationally. Hiring Witten to fill the role would be a big move that establishes that they are not going anywhere any time soon.