Bill Clark Talks Trent Dilfer, Protective Stadium in TV Interview
The former UAB head coach made an appearance on WVTM Tuesday morning to preview the college football season, teasing an announcement about his future along the way.
Former UAB football coach Bill Clark made an appearance on WVTM earlier this week, discussing his current day-to-day life and football-season routine and teasing an “announcement” he intends to make in the “next few weeks.”
I watched every college and every NFL game [last season]. I've never watched NFL [before] with coaching, you know, you might hear a score or whatever. But I got to watch almost every game last year. I was just going, how many ways can I watch a game? How many different TVs?
So I had NFL, I had college football. I've got some consulting that I do. So I'm doing good, I'm not in traction. I get a lot of guys that say, ‘are you out of traction?’ So I feel good, [I’ve gone on] a lot of good walks, but I'm ready. I’ll come back on [WVTM]. I got a pretty good announcement that might be coming up soon, so maybe I can tell you about it in the next few weeks.
Clark gave no additional details about his future and didn’t explicitly state whether or not he plans on returning to football.
Clark also made several comments about this year’s Blazers, his scheduling philosophy, his relationship with Trent Dilfer, and the pride he feels in Protective Stadium, the most notable of which are highlighted below.
On expectations for Trent Dilfer in year two:
Well, I think anytime you go into your second year as a head coach, [you’ve got your guys] and they kind of know what to expect.
Obviously, we feel like we know that group that was there in all the years I was there. I know Coach Dilfer from talking to him, and he's excited about the upcoming year.
On relationship with Trent Dilfer:
I have a good relationship with him. I've stayed away. I didn't want to be the one, you know, standing over the top of him, but we’ve spoken many times.
On UAB-Arkansas, mindset on ‘buy games’:
You know, I had a different mindset — not that we didn't go in there to win — but let's just use my last year [as an example]. We had Jacksonville State [before we played Georgia], and then the next week we had North Texas, and then we had Tulane.
And those were really my focus. Obviously, you play them one game at a time, and those are fun games for the kids. A lot of times those are the games they look forward to. But I was really always thinking about those other games, especially the conference games I knew we had to win.
But [the Arkansas game] will still be fun and be a big test.
On what it feels like to drive by Protective Stadium:
Just a lot of pride. I know how many people came together to make that happen. It was such a — and I’ve said this so many times — it was such a team effort to make that happen. But whether we're talking about UAB games or we're talking about high school championships there, it's such an iconic place. We did it right, it was done right, so it’s very cool and I’m very proud of them.
On the ‘trickle effect’ Protective Stadium has had on the city of Birmingham:
This is what we thought [would happen] the whole time. Obviously, in Legion Field, we had a lot of great memories there. But it was time for something new. And I think there's so many things we could do [at Protective] that we really need to even look at more. Obviously, we had the Garth Brooks concert, but so many sporting events could take place there on top of UAB football and high school championships. It’s a great venue.
Clark concluded the interview by giving his thoughts on the state of the Jacksonville State, Auburn, and Alabama football programs.
On his predictions for Jacksonville State football:
Obviously, that's my alma mater, and I love that place. It's very special what Rich Rod has done, especially [since] they've helped him with facilities, they've upgraded their facilities. They had a great year, a lot of momentum.
Obviously, like a lot of schools of that size, they lost some guys in the portal. But from everything I'm hearing, they feel like they're going to be good. I look forward to getting to watch all those guys in practice.
On his relationship with Nick Saban:
I've known Coach Saban for years and years. When I was a high school coach he recruited my guys. A few times I almost went to work there. So there was this really good relationship. Obviously, he's going to be considered one of the best, if not the best [of all time].
Obviously, he had Alabama and Tuscaloosa to worry about, and I had Birmingham and UAB to worry about, but he usually spoke at my clinic every year, so there was always a good relationship.
On Kalen DeBoer:
Well, the thing that I like about him — we don't really know each other personally — but he has worked his way up. I always talk about, ‘give me somebody that's won everywhere they've been.’ And I think he's that guy.
There's no way to prepare a guy for football in the state of Alabama, and who [he’s] replacing. There's no way to know exactly what he's about to go through. It’s going to be hard. But he's a really good coach with great everything: great facilities and great players already. It’s going to be tough to maintain the standard they've already created, but he's a good coach.
On the importance of high school recruiting:
I think there's some folks you would think that would be easy for that don't understand it, but I think a guy that has worked his way up [knows] that. What I always talked about was high school — let's not forget these guys, because [I was a high school coach.] That’s where it all starts, especially locally. We've got what I consider the best coaches in the country or some of the best coaches in the United States coaching football right here, coaching high school.
On his predictions for Alabama football:
They're going to be there. I think they're going to be right there. It’s going to be interesting to see how all of those pieces come together. I think [DeBoer] is a proven great offensive coach. I know [Kane Wommack]. You're going into high expectations defensively, I know he's a good coach.
I think like a lot of people, I'm ready to see and I’m excited to see. But anytime you come back to a proven quarterback, you know you're ahead.
On his predictions for Auburn football:
As we were talking about with Coach Dilfer, anytime it's your second year you start coming closer. Of course, we're now in the world of NIL. It's not the old world where hey, these are my guys, guys I know. It’s not necessarily that [the new guys] are bad, but maybe [you] don't know them as well. Obviously, in his second year you would feel like he's more comfortable. He made some coaching staff changes
Once again, [Hugh Freeze] is a guy that's proven himself in the SEC and is a good coach, but how do pieces fit together for him this year?
On Hugh Freeze’s trust in Auburn QB Payton Thorne:
You know, it's big. It tells you what he thinks about him. I'm hearing that they've added to their receiver core. It makes a quarterback a lot better when you’ve got a guy you can throw that 50-50 ball up to and he's going to make the play. But the time will tell.
I think there's so much to be said, though, for a guy that's been in the wars in the SEC, and now he knows what it's like to go in these environments, which nobody really understands if they've never been in them. You know, 75 to 100 thousand people are screaming, and you're in this bad locker room and all of the things that go with that. There's a guy at quarterback that's at least been through it.
On Auburn nearly beating Georgia and Alabama last season:
I think this is something that people have to understand: where are these games going to be played this year? He had some of those games at Jordan-Hare, and now he's got to go on the road on some of those games. It is a factor and is a point.
But early on, I think they've got a pretty good schedule. Can they get rolling? Of course, it's week-in, week-out. But I think year 2, as I said before, with his guys and [him being] a little more used to what it looks like, I think he's going to feel like this is more of his team.