Former NFL quarterback and UAB’s new head coach Trent Dilfer loves a spicy take.
In an interview with The Tennessean, Dilfer reminisced about his four years coaching high school football at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville. Let’s just say he might’ve gotten carried away with how successful those teams really were.
“We were the most dominant team in the history of Tennessee high school football,” he says, feet kicked up on the desk of his new office, “and it’s not arguable. There’s no argument against what we just accomplished.”
OK, pump the brakes.
While Dilfer’s teams were undoubtedly some of the best in Tennessee, they were at the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s D-II AA level.
The state’s most competitive level of play for private schools is D-II AAA, featuring heavyweights Brentwood Academy (a school that has produced athletes like Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey), Briarcrest, Baylor and Montgomery Bell Academy.
Though Lipscomb’s moving up to AAA this fall, it won its two state titles with Dilfer at the AA level. To even vaguely claim any sort of “greatest of all time” status, his teams would’ve needed more wins against AAA competition. To boot, Dilfer’s team actually lost to Brentwood Academy, 29-19, in August 2020.
Dilfer’s team also never defeated Tennessee powerhouse Oakland High School. Stationed in Murfreesboro, Oakland has become the team to beat since coach Kevin Creasy was hired in 2015. If any schools in state history have a fair argument for “most dominant” status, it’d be Creasy’s Oakland teams.
You can’t even argue Dilfer’s teams were the most dominant in Lipscomb Academy’s history. For about three decades, Lipscomb was led by TSSAA Hall of Fame coach Glenn McCadams, who won three state titles and went to the playoffs 27 of his 31 years at the high school. That makes Dilfer the second-most accomplished football coach in school history.
While Dilfer certainly accomplished a lot in his four years, saying his teams were the most dominant in Tennessee history is a stretch. It might not be as outlandish as his take on modern quarterback play, but it’s up there.