McCarron Applies Lessons From Saban But Will be His Own Coach in Leading Stallions
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - February 22, 2026
By Steve Irvine
AJ McCarron handled the question about the Birmingham Stallions being chosen as preseason co-favorites to win the UFL the same way he was taught to handle such news. At one point, the term rat poison was mentioned.
“It's great to be recognized from a sense of people understand we have talent,” said the first-year Birmingham Stallions head coach on a Zoom call conference Friday morning. “But like I told these guys, listen, I've been a part of teams that were stacked and you go into the offseason thinking, man, we are absolutely loaded. And you got a couple bad apples that just spoiled the group, right? Or you don't become a family and a unit and do what you need to be to be successful. So it's, you know, rat poison. We've got to go out and play, but we have to understand and learn fast that we have to be process oriented. We can't listen to all the outside noise favorites for the year or whatever the case may be.”
The former University of Alabama national championship quarterback was then asked about the impact that Nick Saban plays on McCarron’s coaching style.
“Listen, man, he's one of the greatest of all time,” McCarron said. “There's certain things that I take from him because I truly believe that's what made us special. But at the same time, I'm going to be myself. I think when you look at a lot of coaches that have come from the Saban tree, they try to be Coach Saban so much and they're not themselves, right? So for whatever reason, it doesn't work out. I'm still going to be myself from a sense of being a player's coach, somebody they can come talk to. You know, that's a little different from Coach Saban. He was more of a closed off, unless you really knew him for a long time. He was quiet, but he was almost like that mythical creature that, you know, just roamed the hallways. And a lot of people, when they heard him coming down the hallway, they'd find a way to step out of the room or whatever so they didn't get caught. I don't want that. I want dudes to come into my office, come talk, talk about life. Like, I'm here for them, no matter what.”
McCarron is taking his first step in the head coaching world as the leader of the Birmingham Stallions. Most of his work for the past few months has come over the phone or during Zoom meetings. That changed a couple of days ago when the players reported to Arlington, Texas to get ready for the opening of training camp. All of the league’s players went through physical testing on Friday and practice sessions begin on Monday.
On paper, McCarron and his staff put together what is considered one of the most complete and talented rosters in the UFL. But that is just the start of building toward another championship for the most successful organization in the UFL.
“When people think of the Birmingham Stallions, they think of success, they think of championships,” McCarron said. “So you already have a target on your back just because of your label and the team name. But a lot of it has to do with process, a lot of it has to do with the mental side of things to be successful. If you can be mentally tough and learn how to push through things and push through adversity, you can be successful.”
The Stallions enter camp with a three-man race at the quarterback position between returnee Matt Corral, former Briarwood Christian and Samford standout Michael Hiers and Canadian Taylor Elgersma. However, Elgersma will miss a short time after being invited to workout at the NFL Combine, which begins on Thursday.
McCarron said that will not impact his status with the Stallions.
“He said he wants to just go through the interview process,” McCarron said. “He's not going to take a (NFL) Futures deal. Then he'll be right back with us to practice after a couple days of being up there.”
Much of the preseason attention, when it comes to the Stallions, is a group of receivers that is considered to be among the deepest – if not the deepest – in the UFL.
“Our big focus, building this team, starting with the big fellas up front, getting size, getting guys that are big and athletic and then it was getting explosive players all across the board,” McCarron said. “You know, not just the receiver room, but you look at our running back room, I think we're top in the league when it comes to that as well. We've got dudes that can be big downhill bruisers. We've got guys that are scat backs, guys that can split out (and) run routes. Then the receiver room, it's loaded. It's exciting. The biggest thing for those guys is understanding that everybody's a one. I didn't want to build this roster from a sense of, man, we only got one true one and a number two like most teams do. I wanted to get as many top guys as possible and rotate these guys in. I think we are going to keep probably the most amount of receivers and have it where our guys are rotating in and they're fresh each and every week. I’m excited to watch these guys go compete.”