Fran Tarkenton unloads on AJ McCarron: ‘He should keep his mouth shut and praise Saban’

AJ McCarron made some comments earlier this week about Alabama’s loss to Ole Miss that some have interpretted as disrespectful toward Nick Saban. In short, McCarron speculated that Saban may have put “handcuffs” on offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin during the Ole Miss game. He also said he believes the Tide lack a player who is enough of a leader to settle the team down during games.

To say that former NFL and Georgia quarterback Fran Tarkenton disagrees with McCarron would be a massive understatement. Here’s what Tarkenton had to say during an appearance on WJOX-FM’s “The Opening Drive” in Birmingham Wednesday.

“Oh gosh, it’s AJ McCarron,” Tarkenton said. “Did he go to class? Did he make the league or not? He needs to be quiet. He was so fortunate to play in that program. He’s an average quarterback at best. He played fine, but he couldn’t have played anywhere else but Alabama.

“To make a comment like that is just disrespectful. He should keep his mouth shut and praise Saban and Alabama for the rest of his life.”

McCarron, who is currently on the non-football injury list with the Cincinnati Bengals, has been labeled a “game manager” by many. While he certainly was not the most talented passer in the nation, he did enough to win three national championships during his college career. Some would argue that his resume gives him the right to share his opinion.

Tarkenton clearly is not one of those people. Saban already gave his response to McCarron’s opinion, and it sounds like Tarkenton feels the same way. Although, we’re guessing Saban thinks more highly of McCarron as a player than Tarkenton does.

H/T Marc Torrence