He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, becoming the first quarterback to win consecutive BCS National Championship Games with victories in 2012 and 2013.

While attending St. Paul's, McCarron was recruited by several football programs in the Southeastern Conference, including Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

McCarron's performance of 163 yards with no turnovers helped Alabama defeat Penn State by a score of 27–11,[17] which turned out to be the last loss for head coach Joe Paterno.

Another solid performance, alongside running back Trent Richardson, helped McCarron get a victory in his first Southeastern Conference (SEC) start, a 38–14 win over #14 Arkansas.

By remaining unbeaten during the rest of the regular season, Alabama again met LSU at the Superdome for the national championship.

[22] During his first season as starting quarterback, McCarron threw for 2,634 yards, 16 touchdowns, and five interceptions[23] and led the team to the BCS National Championship.

[25] His good start to the season, including a comeback victory over LSU, had several media members put McCarron as a dark horse candidate for the year's Heisman Trophy.

[29] Both McCarron and Alabama rebounded to remain unbeaten during the rest of the regular season, which led them to the 2012 SEC Championship Game versus Georgia.

[30] With the help of running back Eddie Lacy, Alabama battled the Bulldogs to win 32–28 and earn a shot to play for the 2013 BCS National Championship against No.

[31] On December 12, 2012, ahead of their game against Notre Dame, McCarron announced that he would be coming back to Alabama for his senior season.

The Fighting Irish were led by their defense and Heisman runner-up Manti Te'o to an unbeaten 12–0 regular season record.

[54] In August 2014, he was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list due to shoulder soreness, meaning that McCarron would miss at least the first six weeks of the 2014 season.

[56] McCarron was named the backup quarterback to begin the season after beating out Keith Wenning and Terrelle Pryor during training camp.

[60] On December 13, 2015, starting quarterback Dalton fractured the thumb on his throwing hand while trying to make a tackle in the first quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

[66] During the Wild Card Round against the Steelers, McCarron completed 23-of-41 passes for 212 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in the narrow 18–16 loss, ending their season.

[68] On October 31, 2017, the Bengals and Browns agreed on a deal to trade McCarron to Cleveland in exchange for a second and third-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft.

[75] Nonetheless, McCarron received a second opinion on the injury, which revealed no fracture, clearing him to participate in the next two preseason games, including a comeback victory over the Chicago Bears, where McCarron passed for three touchdowns and ran for another in the fourth quarter despite carrying a 0.0 passer rating the previous three quarters.

[76] On September 1, 2018, McCarron was traded to the Oakland Raiders for a 2019 fifth-round draft pick (originally acquired from the Steelers).

[80] In the regular-season finale against the Tennessee Titans, McCarron recorded his first start since the 2015 season since the Texans were already locked into the #4-seed in the AFC and sat most of their starters as a result.

[82] He briefly entered the Week 14 matchup against the Bears after starter Deshaun Watson hurt his elbow, but McCarron was sacked on his lone play for a turnover on downs.

[86] He suffered a torn ACL in the Week 2 preseason game against the Miami Dolphins and was placed on season-ending injured reserve, ending his season before it even started.

[104] Battlehawks coach Anthony Becht reserved a roster spot for McCarron should he agree to return to the team.

McCarron suffered an ankle injury during a Week 7 contest against the Birmingham Stallions but played through the injury for the rest of the game, stating at the time that he hoped to teach a lesson to his children; McCarron eventually returned for the end of the season and the XFL conference championship, where he again injured his ankle in a 25–15 loss to the San Antonio Brahmas.

McCarron planned on having surgery to repair the ankle in the offseason, noting that there was a possibility it could end his playing career but that he wanted to continue having a part in the league even if it would be in a non-playing role.

[106] On November 15, 2024, Becht relinquished McCarron's rights, stating that he felt that it was time for another quarterback, preferably someone on an NFL practice squad (eventually revealed as Max Duggan[108]), to take the Battlehawks' reins in 2025.

[109] In a post-release interview, McCarron indicated that he suspected he would not be on the Battlehawks roster for 2025 before the 2024 season ended and accused Becht of multiple wrongs, including forcing him to return to play at the end of the 2024 season while still injured, reneging on an agreement to issue a joint statement announcing his departure (as he found out about his release from his son), attempting to enforce a nonexistent reserve clause to forbid McCarron from signing with any other team unless the Battlehawks agreed to trade his rights, and portraying the departure as a retirement when McCarron fully intends on returning to professional football.

[110] However, in a January 2025 interview with the New York Post, McCarron's wife indicated he would likely not play football again and was in the process of securing a podcast deal.