AJ McCarron returning to the United Football League
The former Alabama All-American quarterback has become the coach of the Birmingham Stallions.
www.al.com
BREAKING AJ McCarron named Stallions Head Coach
- Thread starter bamamc1
- Start date
www.al.com
Interesting reason to end his Lt. Governor run. He said it was football-related and would take all his time. Congrats to AJ!
I'd prefer to coach football any day really. Thing is, he doesn't have any experience at either gig. Has dude ever coached football?
At least Shula had coached in some capacity as an assistant. He may be able to hire an outstanding staff to completely lean on but...
The conspiracy buff in me says he was promised this to get him out of politics, at least this round.
The conspiracy buff in me says he was promised this to get him out of politics, at least this round.
My take was similar but more along the lines of the Stallions were given an offer they couldn’t refuse to offer him the job. LOL
He played in that league, for the St. Louis team.
I guess this is less of a leap than going into politics.
I wish AJ well. Birmingham has a good program (by UFL standards).
I guess this is less of a leap than going into politics.
I wish AJ well. Birmingham has a good program (by UFL standards).
Don't think it's anything like that. The Columbus team hired Ted GinnJr., another former player with no coaching experience. They were planning on getting rid of some of these teams, so this seems like a last ditch effort to generate interest in those markets.
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I think they're trying to get fans in the seats. Despite winning 3 straight titles, attendance is dismal.
Well, last year there were eight teams, three of them in Texas (Houston, Arlington, San Antone) , plus St. Louis, Birmingham, DC, Michigan, and Memphis.
The wntire league is run on a shoestring, so they do not fall prey to the Alliance of American Football, which collapsed during the season when loans were called in.
UFL plays make a league-minimum $62k a season. QBs make "in the low six figures." The UFL is very conscious that profits minus expanses had better be a positive number.
I went to a DC Defenders game. It was fun and I did not have to take out a second mortgage. They played in the DC United Soccer stadium.
Yep. Right across the street from the Nationals' stadium. Metro stop nearby.
Tickets were around $35 and we were on the 50 yard line about ten rows up.
It was an enjoyable experience and I will probably do it again.
I think the league wanted to manage the rosters at the home office. I'm not sure to what end. Possibly to get local college stars closer to the markets that want to see them. I'm thinking the existing coaches didn't want to try to win with teams that were handed to them without any input. Skip did a great job in Birmingham and will get plenty of opportunity elsewhere. Losing him and some of the other coaches will likely not lead to better football or player development.
Having said all that there is merit to wanting to get a more locally focused roster. In my opinion the biggest problems with attendance in Birmingham at least was the horrible scheduling. They had games in time slots that were just not conducive to getting a big crowd. Mostly during the day when people had too much else going on. I am old enough to remember the original USFL and most of their games were at night when people were off work or had better opportunity to get to the stadium. Some of those games drew in the 40 thousands and that was to Legion Field AND the population of Birmingham is much higher today than it was in the 80's. Don't complain when nobody shows up for a Saturday noon kickoff during Nascar weekend.
I also think they missed a big opportunity by ignoring the weekdays. For instance a monday night game might be a big draw on TV and in the stadium. I mean what else do you have to do on a Monday night during the spring?
As for AJ, I think if he can find a good staff of people who ARE experienced I think he can do well. He hasn't coached but he's been in the game at the highest levels for a long time. We will just have to see how it goes.
Having said all that there is merit to wanting to get a more locally focused roster. In my opinion the biggest problems with attendance in Birmingham at least was the horrible scheduling. They had games in time slots that were just not conducive to getting a big crowd. Mostly during the day when people had too much else going on. I am old enough to remember the original USFL and most of their games were at night when people were off work or had better opportunity to get to the stadium. Some of those games drew in the 40 thousands and that was to Legion Field AND the population of Birmingham is much higher today than it was in the 80's. Don't complain when nobody shows up for a Saturday noon kickoff during Nascar weekend.
I also think they missed a big opportunity by ignoring the weekdays. For instance a monday night game might be a big draw on TV and in the stadium. I mean what else do you have to do on a Monday night during the spring?
As for AJ, I think if he can find a good staff of people who ARE experienced I think he can do well. He hasn't coached but he's been in the game at the highest levels for a long time. We will just have to see how it goes.
For him, probably a good idea. AJ's a good man but needs more life experience (I'm in my 50's and this applies to me too).
Good for AJ! I think he absorbed more of CNS than any QB he coached at Bama. From "the slap on the butt" to "catching coach in his arms" AJ went to school. Let's see how it displays itself in coaching.
As for his QB mind, I'd put AJ's mind up against almost anybody who's played at Bama. Considering his abilities, he got as much out of them as possible IMO. Dude owns 3 NC rings and was the starting QB for the 2-peat '11 and '12 teams.
As for his QB mind, I'd put AJ's mind up against almost anybody who's played at Bama. Considering his abilities, he got as much out of them as possible IMO. Dude owns 3 NC rings and was the starting QB for the 2-peat '11 and '12 teams.
I guess he decided he couldn’t beat Secretary of State Wes Allen or the Ag Commissioner in the primary.
But being lt governor isn’t a bad gig. It’s pretty much a do nothing job and he’d be the favorite for the big chair in 2032. Or Tubby could croak or move back to Florida and he’s promoted.
But being lt governor isn’t a bad gig. It’s pretty much a do nothing job and he’d be the favorite for the big chair in 2032. Or Tubby could croak or move back to Florida and he’s promoted.
My eldest grandson has played a couple of soccer tournaments on the grounds of RFK. It's a skeleton being dismantled now. I went to a Nats game at RFK their first year here from Montreal. It'll be interesting to see the neighborhood changes that comes with the new Commanders stadium.
I think the area has been gentrified (a bit). The value of the real estate was too high to let is be a slum.
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