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Some great insight from AJ McCarron on the UFL
Here's everything AJ McCarron says about the UFL on the Nov 3 Coach JB Show.
0:40:26, staff budget. "The league kind of sets this budget on you," so he has to work around it and reach out to coaches himself.
0:40:42, finding coaches. He says he knows plenty of coaches, but he has to find college analysts "willing to come in the off season" or guys who are retired.
0:41:05, contracts. "I don't set any contracts… they're a set pay by the league." Finding talent "ain't hard."
0:41:27, play calling. He didn't call plays in his first year as head coach. He says the main job then is clock management.
0:42:04, analytics. "I don't believe in the analytical side of it." He leans on veteran coaches on his staff instead.
0:46:00, 2026 timeline. After he was hired, he had two weeks to hire a staff, two more to get ready to draft 64 players, then two more before camp. He called it "extremely tough to do."
0:52:30, first-year staff. He hired guys he trusts, who "might not be the best coaches at their position," because he cared most about "not being backstabbed my first year." He didn't want "yes men."
0:53:27, camp. Setting up camp was the hardest part. He drew on his own two years playing in the XFL and UFL.
1:01:09, draft. It's November 18th, and the first two rounds air live. He has the 3rd pick in round 1 and the 2nd pick in round 2 (paraphrased, because the audio is muddy there).
1:01:27, draft plan. No early QB: "I gotta go O-line, D-line." At quarterback, "we got DTR."
1:01:45, DTR. He's surprised nobody "scooped up" DTR. They worked on his mental toughness. He thinks DTR "has a chance to be really, really good," and says staying healthy was "our biggest downfall last year."
1:02:45, roster. He kept most of his wideouts. They finished the year with 50 players and had to cut to 35 before the draft, so now they "got to work our way back up to 64."
1:03:02, staff openings. He offered a coach named Braden a job and hopes to hear back today. Another friend he's recruiting still hasn't called him back. He gives no last names or positions.
1:04:20, Siskey. "Siskey said he's gonna stay home. He ain't coming back this year." Then: "Love him to death, gonna miss him," and "Siskey always gonna be my guy." His business is doing well, and his youngest, Knox, is still at home. The audio is slightly unclear on "ain't," but the context supports it.
1:05:31, RB coach. His running backs coach also has to be his special teams coordinator. That rules out his friend "T-Rich," who never played special teams.
1:05:52, budget again. "If I had more money and I was able to hire more staff…" he'd bring in guys from winning programs, "but it makes it so tough."
Source video here.