Former two-time Alabama national champion starting quarterback AJ McCarron will return for a second season as a head coach in the United Football League (UFL). This time, it is with a franchise in Rhode Island where the previous Birmingham Stallions are being relocated to.
McCarron was previously the head coach for the Stallions for one season in 2026, the franchise's final year in Birmingham. The Stallions went 4-6 under McCarron in 2026. McCarron was hired as the Stallions head coach in December 2025 and will now stick with the franchise as it relocates to Rhode Island for the 2027 season.
McCarron was a quarterback for five seasons at Alabama from 2009-13. He was a three-year starter (2011-13), and won national titles in 2011 and 2012. He redshirted
and did not play in a game in Alabama's 2009 national championship season. McCarron is the Alabama career passing yard record holder with 9,019 career passing yards. He also threw 77 career touchdowns, third most in Alabama history.
McCarron was a fifth round pick in the 2014 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, where he spent the first four seasons of his NFL career. All in all, McCarron appeared in 19 career NFL games across nine seasons with time spent in Cincinnati, Oakland, Houston, and Atlanta. He then spent two seasons playing spring football in the XFL/UFL (post XFL/USFL merger) as the St. Louis Battlehawks' starting quarterback in 2023 and 2024.
WELCOME TO RHODE ISLAND, AJ!
— UFL Rhode Island (@UFLRhodeIsland) September 30, 2026
Introducing AJ McCarron as our first ever Head Coach! pic.twitter.com/nMxg6Kt3IP
Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.
This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Former Alabama quarterback named head coach of new UFL team
