AJ McCarron was the first QB to win consecutive BCS National Championship Games as a starter and finished his Alabama career as the Heisman Trophy runner-up. However, that successful college career also included moments that drew the ire of Nick Saban. One, in particular, led to a heated sideline moment that McCarron is now recalling with fresh perspective.

The mistake happened during Alabama’s 30-10 win over Mississippi State in November 2010. With the Tide leading by 20 points in the fourth quarter, McCarron messed up when he was inserted for the “mop-up duty.” He ignored a wide-open TE on a deep route and instead forced a difficult pass into the end zone to star WR Julio Jones, who dropped it. When the backup QB returned to the sideline, a furious Saban met him on the field, got in his face, and gave him a “good, swift pop on the rear” with his hand.

“I have no clue what he said. I couldn’t tell you. I wasn’t even listening as he was yelling at me and getting on to me, and then when the slap happened, like, it didn’t register with me,” said McCarron. “I grew up in the South, like getting in the belt to the ass was nothing. So the hand is like, ‘Okay, it is what it is.’ I didn’t take offense to it. It takes a lot more to hurt my feelings.”

“He had to bring me in. Was like, ‘Hey, are you mad at me? We got to make a statement on this. Is there anything you want to say? Or are you pis-ed at me? I’m like, ‘I don’t care,’ I said, ‘but I am going to make a joke about it.’ When they asked me, and I told him, you know, in the press conference or whatever interview we did, I said, ‘Listen, he’s so small I couldn’t hear what the hell he was saying. He’s way down there,'” said the ex-Alabama QB, who led the program to back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012 under Saban.

‘McCarron, who also recalled the play in a recent September 2024 interview, never took the ‘spanking’ personally. His parents were just as tough on him growing up, and he is now well aware of Saban’s true intention. Even the legendary Alabama head coach later called it a “good opportunity for [AJ McCarron] to learn.”

As the ultimate example of Saban’s ‘Process’ philosophy, where every play must be executed to perfection, Saban didn’t overlook the mistake despite the lopsided score.

On his part, Saban didn’t publicly apologize, stating that football is for “tough people” and that if viewers didn’t like seeing a coach challenge a player, they should “watch the Golf Channel.” Like Saban, McCarron never made any move to defend that moment. Recalling the play, the former Alabama QB joked that if Saban didn’t want him throwing to Julio Jones, he shouldn’t have put Julio in the game with him.

“I did tell him at that time; I said, ‘Listen, you also got to trust what I see. I feel like I’ve always done a good job of taking care of the football, but you put me in the game with Julio Jones, and he’s one-on-one with a corner; I’m throwing it,” stated McCarron.

The relationship between the ex-Alabama head coach and the QB

While intense sideline confrontations marked their early years at Alabama, the relationship between Nick Saban and AJ McCarron has evolved from a volatile “tough love” coaching dynamic into a lifelong mentorship and friendship.

By 2012, McCarron described their bond as a “second dad and son type thing.” Nick Saban stated that he brought McCarron up “the hard way,” much as his own father had raised him, which set a high standard for their success together.

But a landmark moment in their bond was the “Jump Hug” after the 2013 LSU game, a rare public display of affection from Saban. Then, McCarron also praised Saban for allowing his younger brother, Corey, to play in his final home game, calling it his most special Alabama memory.

Now the head coach of the Birmingham Stallions, McCarron is considered a new branch of the “Saban Coaching Tree.” He has explicitly implemented Saban’s “process” mindset and hired several former Alabama colleagues to his staff.