ARLINGTON, TX – October 6, 2026 – From national championships in Tuscaloosa to NFL Sundays and spring football stardom, AJ McCarron has built a career around winning. Now, he gets the chance to build something of his own in Rhode Island.
The former Alabama quarterback, NFL veteran and UFL player and coach has been named the first head coach of the UFL’s newest franchise in Rhode Island. Just days after the UFL announced its arrival in Rhode Island, McCarron became the face of the franchise. He’ll make the move north while bringing plenty of familiarity with him, retaining his roster from the 2026 season.
New city. New colors. New chapter. But the goal remains the same: win a championship.
Born and raised in Alabama, McCarron was the lone quarterback signed in the Crimson Tide’s 2009 recruiting class. After redshirting his first season, he gradually worked his way into the rotation before taking over the starting job in 2011.
McCarron wasted little time making an impact. In his first career start, he threw for 226 yards and a touchdown as Alabama earned a victory. By season’s end, McCarron had guided the Crimson Tide to an 11-1 regular-season record and a spot in the BCS National Championship Game.
Against LSU, he delivered on the biggest stage. McCarron threw for 234 yards as Alabama defeated the Tigers to claim the 2011 national championship.
Then, he did it again. Alabama opened the 2012 season 9-0 before falling to Texas A&M. The Crimson Tide responded by defeating Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, earning another shot at a national title.
This time, it was Notre Dame standing in the way. McCarron shredded the Fighting Irish defense, throwing for 264 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-14 Alabama victory. With the win, he became the first quarterback to win back-to-back BCS national championships.
His senior season brought even more production. McCarron set a school record with 3,063 passing yards, finished as the Heisman Trophy runner-up and cemented himself among Alabama’s all-time greats.
The Cincinnati Bengals selected McCarron in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. After spending his rookie season as a backup, McCarron stepped into the starting role late in 2015 following an injury to Andy Dalton. He became the first Alabama quarterback to win an NFL game since 1987, completing 15 of 21 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown in a victory over San Francisco.
McCarron later helped Cincinnati reach the postseason, starting in the Bengals’ Wild Card matchup against Pittsburgh.
But some of the biggest moments of his career came after his time in the NFL. In 2022, McCarron joined the St. Louis Battlehawks and immediately became one of spring football’s biggest stars. He led comeback victories in each of his first two starts before putting together one of the most prolific games in league history in the regular-season finale.
McCarron threw for 420 yards and six touchdowns, both single-game XFL records, and finished the season with a league-record 24 passing touchdowns.
He returned to St. Louis in 2024 and battled through a Week 7 injury to make it back for the XFL Championship, once again showing the toughness that had defined his playing career.
Then came the next chapter. After stepping away from playing, McCarron moved to the sideline in 2026, taking over as head coach of the Birmingham Stallions.
Now, he gets another opportunity. Only this time, McCarron isn’t simply taking over a team, he’s helping build one. The move to Rhode Island marks another step in a career that has taken McCarron from college football’s biggest stage, to the NFL, to spring football, and now into coaching.
The scenery will be different and the weather certainly will be as well. But the mission remains familiar. AJ McCarron is heading north and he’s bringing a championship mentality with him.