The Birmingham Stallions are on the move, and head coach AJ McCarron isn't sugarcoating why. In a wide-ranging interview, McCarron confirmed the franchise is relocating as part of a bigger UFL expansion plan, defended his coaching methods after a viral clip involving Cam Newton, and broke down a brutal three-week stretch of injuries that gutted his offensive line and derailed a promising season.
McCarron made clear he's not out of a job. He's just moving with the franchise to a new market as the UFL restructures around ownership's vision for what the league should look like on television and in the stands.
Why Birmingham Is Losing the Stallions
McCarron said he knew the move was coming before it became public, with ownership giving him a heads up ahead of the official announcement. And while he understands the frustration from Stallions fans, he laid out the business logic in blunt terms.
"When you got— you've put $150 million into a league of your own money, guess what? You call the shots. And he wants the league to be a certain look. He wants the stadiums to be a certain way. And the city wasn't willing to build one right now. It didn't make sense for them, and I understand that." — AJ McCarron
He pushed back on the idea that Birmingham's championship success should have shielded the franchise from relocation, pointing instead to declining attendance as the real driver of the decision.
"Tickets and people in the seats speak for themselves, and it just wasn't happening. It was on a decline each and every year, even when they were winning championships." — AJ McCarron
McCarron also explained the optics problem of playing in a 40,000-plus seat stadium like Protective Stadium with only 8,000 to 10,000 fans showing up, compared to smaller venues that look packed on TV even with modest crowds. "The product looks better when you're in a soccer stadium," he said.
As for what's next league-wide, McCarron laid out the expansion roadmap he's been told about: the league will stay at eight teams for now with two new markets replacing Birmingham and Houston, then add two more markets to reach 10 teams by 2028, and a target of 12 teams by 2029. He said he doesn't know yet where his team will land.
"There's possible locations that have been thrown out, but I mean, hell, I see just as much on Twitter from that part as everybody else."
Five Starting Linemen Down in Three Weeks
Beyond the relocation news, McCarron gave a detailed look at just how thin UFL rosters really are — and how a brutal injury stretch on the offensive line wrecked the Stallions' season after a hot start.
He broke down the numbers: teams practice with 50 players, but have to make seven inactive on gameday, leaving 43 active. Subtract the long snapper, punter and kicker, and that's down to 40. Then the league requires three active quarterbacks at all times, dropping the true number to 37 healthy bodies for both sides of the ball.
"You're going into a game with 19 guys most of the time on defense and 20 guys or 21 guys on offense. I mean, you're carrying 7 O-line into a professional game." — AJ McCarron
McCarron said the Stallions were building momentum — including a win over the top-seeded Orlando Storm — when the injuries hit. Birmingham's starting left tackle cracked his sternum, then lost their starting right tackle and right guard to season-ending injuries the following week, then lost their starting center and left guard the week after that.
"We lost all 5 starting linemen in 3 weeks and we won that game as well. So we go into the last 2, 3 weeks with 5 new linemen in a league where you're only carrying 7 or 8 active on your entire roster all year. And so, I mean, it just— it's hard to be successful." — AJ McCarron
He was quick to say he wasn't making excuses. "We didn't get it done," he said, but pointed to the injury run as real context for why the Stallions faded.
Looking Back: "I Should Have Made Camp Harder"
McCarron didn't shy away from self-criticism when asked about regrets from his first season. He described an insanely compressed timeline — hired right before Christmas, given roughly two weeks to hire a coaching staff, then just a week and a half before having to prepare for a draft that initially allowed him to keep 12 players from the previous Birmingham roster before that number was slashed to three days before the draft.
"My regret is definitely not pushing the guys more during camp. I felt like I didn't push them enough from a physical and mental standpoint. I was trying to save the guys because I'm like, man, we got a team, we have the right talent, we just got to get to the season. And that is one regret that I have." — AJ McCarron
He compared the process to any first-year coaching job, invoking names like Nick Saban and Pete Carroll to make the point that no coach gets the formula right immediately. "It takes time," he said.
"I don't care if your favorite coach is Lombardi, Nick Saban, Pete Carroll. Like when they first start out, ask them."
Addressing the Cam Newton Clip
McCarron directly addressed the viral moment involving him, defensive lineman Perrion Winfrey, and criticism from Cam Newton that made the rounds on social media. According to McCarron, the footage was edited in a way that made it look like he was yelling directly at Winfrey, when in fact the two had already separated to their respective coaching rooms by that point in the broadcast.
"I lost my mind when I first came in the locker room and then we separate. Coaches go to talk offensive staff, defensive staff. And then when I was with the offensive staff... I hear rumblings out in the hallway and I'm like, what the hell is going on? So I open up the door and I see Perrion's going at it with our D coordinator." — AJ McCarron
He pointed out that Birmingham's defense allowed just three points in the second half of that game, calling it proof his message worked. "Nobody wants to talk about that," he said.
McCarron didn't hold back on Newton either, noting the two have known each other for years and pushing back on Newton's framing of the moment as out of bounds for a coach in a league like the UFL.
"There's a reason a lot of these guys are in this league. It's because either they don't know how to take coaching, they have off-the-field issues, they got drug issues, they got baby mama issues. You're trying to help these guys figure out the right way to do things and then get a chance to get back to the NFL or make it for the first time. So miss me with that bullshit." — AJ McCarron
He argued that former college stars and NFL veterans sometimes carry an entitled mindset into the UFL that doesn't match the reality of where they are in their careers, using the release of defensive lineman Perrion Winfrey as an example of a player unwilling to adjust his role. "You ain't bigger than the team, and you have to establish that as a coach and be willing to move on," McCarron said.
DTR's Future and an Underrated Shoutout
McCarron made clear he wants quarterback DTR back and believes he's earned another opportunity after showing he can still lead a team.
"I think DTR deserves a shot. The dude's super talented and he's a great dude, great for the room, works his ass off, and I care a lot about him." — AJ McCarron
He also went out of his way to praise receiver Justin Ross, a former Kansas City Chiefs player who bought into a special teams role for Birmingham without complaint.
"Justin Ross, an absolute baller at Clemson. Guess what? The dude started on every special teams, didn't say shit, didn't care. He was close to our leading receiver behind a 32-year-old... There's a lot of dudes on these rosters that couldn't hold Justin Ross' jockstrap right now. I promise you that." — AJ McCarron
As the Stallions prepare to relocate for the 2027 season, McCarron's message is simple: he's staying put behind the wheel, wherever the team lands. The bigger picture, though, is a league betting that new markets and better-fitted stadiums will finally turn attendance numbers around — even for a franchise that's already won it all.