Coach on hot seat was supposed to be Deion Sanders lite but that was 'massive miscalculation'

UAB doesn't have a Deion Sanders-lite in Trent Dilfer. AL.com's Creg Stephenson implied that the Blazers were looking for a celebrity coach who'd bring talent to his program and fans into Protective Stadium, but neither has happened.

"UAB hired Dilfer because they figured he’d be a quarterback guru & a 'Deion Lite' celebrity coach who would draw in attention/recruits," Stephenson wrote. "Less than 16 games in, that seems like a massive miscalculation."

UAB is 5-11 since Dilfer took over after a 41-18 loss to Navy on September 28 -- a game in which the Midshipmen were on third down just eight times -- and had the No. 97 recruiting class for the 2024 cycle per On3. 247Sports had the Blazers at 109; good for a bottom-20 finish nationally.

Deion Sanders has brought elite talent to Colorado, Trent Dilfer has not with UAB

Sanders has had top-five transfer classes in both years he's been in charge of the Buffs. He brought the No. 1 recruit in the 2022 class, Travis Hunter, to Boulder with him from Jackson State and his son Shedeur Sanders has wildly outperformed his 4-star high school rating.

Colorado is a changed program in the "Prime Time" era. There's a clear step forward from the Karl Dorrell era. The opposite is happening in Birmingham with Dilfer. UAB was a better program with Bill Clark leading the way.

To be fair, the step up in competition from Conference USA to the American is a big reason why Dilfer hasn't seen immediate success. But the Blazers taking a step back on the recruiting trail calls into question what Dilfer's purpose is in the Magic City.