Born in San Pedro, California, Carano's Pop Warner football coach was former NFL quarterbackEddie LeBaron. He graduated from Earl Wooster High School in Reno, Nevada, in 1973. He received high school All-American honors as a senior. He accepted a football scholarship from University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he became a four-year starter at quarterback. As a freshman in 1973 under head coach Ron Meyer, he was named the starter at quarterback. As a sophomore in 1974, he helped UNLV achieve a number two ranking in Division II, after the school completed their one and only undefeated regular season. The Rebels met Delaware in the Grantland Rice Bowl, a national semifinal, but lost backfield with Carano was senior running back Mike Thomas, a fifth round selection in the 1975 NFL Draft and the offensive rookie of the year with the Washington Redskins. He finished with 49 completions out of 106 attempts, 839 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. As a junior in 1975, he registered 128 completions out of 226 attempts, 2,039 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. As a senior in 1976 under new head coach Tony Knap, Carano completed 148 of 277 passes for 2,024 yards, 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, while leading the Rebels to the Division II Midwest Regional and a number seven national ranking. His twin brother Gene was his top receiver in his last season. In his college career, Carano completed 337 of 636 passes for 5,095 yards, 37 passing touchdowns and 19 rushing touchdowns, while setting almost all of the school's passing records. In 1989, he was inducted into the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2015, he was inducted into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame.
In the 1977 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys didn't have a second round draft choice, after trading three of them to the Seattle Seahawks as part of the package to acquire Tony Dorsett. On May 3, the Cowboys traded wide receiverDuke Fergerson to the Seahawks in exchange for the 26th position in the second round, used to The Cowboys used to carry only 2 quarterbacks on their roster until drafting Carano, who became the third-string quarterback after passing fellow rookie Steve Deberg on the depth chart. From 1977 to 1979, Carano was the third-string quarterback behind Roger Staubach and Danny White. In 1980, he became the backup after the retirement of Staubach. Carano is perhaps best remembered for replacing the injured White in the 1981 Thanksgiving game against the Chicago Bears and helping the Cowboys to a comeback win. The next game was the only start of his NFL career, in which he completed 7 of 18 passes for 51 yards in a against the Baltimore Colts. Notably, the opposing quarterback for the Colts, David Humm, was also making his first and only NFL start, the only time in NFL history two "one and done" quarterbacks have ever faced off. Carano and Humm were the subjects of an NFL Films piece entitled "My One and Only," recounting the 1981 game; it noted that the two had been friends since high school, and remained friends until Humm's death in 2018. In 1982, Carano was passed on the depth chart by Gary Hogeboom for the backup quarterback role behind White.
Pittsburgh Maulers (USFL)
On December 1, 1983, Carano signed with the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League where he completed 53.7% of his passes for 2,368 yards, 13 touchdowns and 19 interceptions in the 1984 season. The next year owner Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr. folded the team, after the USFL announced that they would be switching to a fall schedule in 1986.
Personal life
Carano has served on the Nevada Athletic Commission, the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority Marketing Committee, the Board of Directors for the Airport Authority of Washoe Country, and the Board of Directors for Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows. He is married to Lamise and has three daughters, Kasey, Gina and Christi. Gina is a television personality, retired mixed martial arts fighter, actress and fitness model. His father, Donald Louis "Don" Carano, was an attorney and entrepreneur in Reno, Nevada.
