The name of Louisiana Monroe coach Bryant Vincent resonates with very few. After a 2-10 mark in 2023, the Warhawks let go of Terry Bowden after 3 years and hired Vincent.
Vincent was the interim coach at Alabama Brimingham (UAB) in 2022 after the surprising departure of Bill Clark. A 6-6 mark was not impressive enough to erase the interim tag despite a petition from the players to permanently hire Vincent.
2023 found Vincent in football purgatory as he was the Offensive Coordinator at New Mexico. When has New Mexico ever had a good offense?
Cynics will say that ULM’s hire of Vincent was purgatory continuation. Not only is ULM among the most under financed programs with a tepid fan base, the War Hawks had only 7 returning starters.
Last Saturday, fate had a major chuckle when UAB traveled to Monroe. Eschewing Vincent, UAB made an “out of the box” hire of Trent Dilfer. Dilfer’s big coaching chops were 2 state championships at Lipscomb Academy. Dilfer has been a dud. Last year’s record was 4-8. The former Super Bowl winning QB has yet to win a road game.
Imagine how wonderful Vincent felt after ULM rose from the ashes and smashed UAB 32-6, thanks in part to 3 UAB turnovers. ULM dominated both lines of scrimmage. ULM’s roster includes a dozen former Blazers. The Tymes’ 1963 hit, “Wonderful, Wonderful” should have boomed in the victors’ locker room. Ample evidence that UAB hired the wrong guy.
The Odyssey has a big smile when thinking of Bryant Vincent. Saturday night must have put him on Cloud 9.
