Ulster After a brief pause, post-retirement McCall started as a formal coach for both Ireland U21s and
Ireland A as well as a deputy coach for
Ulster. This converted to a full time position by 2001 and in 2004, with the departure of
Alan Solomons he became Head Coach at Ulster. In 2006, McCall would take Ulster to victory in the Celtic Cup. However, within 18 months, McCall handed his resignation with Ulster bottom of the Magners League and poor European performance. The new coaching setup's minimum target was to ensure a top-six finish (to guarantee
Heineken Cup qualification), which was managed with a fifth-place finish. In the 2010–11 season his team was unbeaten and went on to win the Premiership. In the 2012 season he managed them to go on to be the only English team to qualify for the Heineken Cup. McCall, though he has appeared far less in the news than his predecessor, who was penalised several times for speaking against rugby's organising bodies, was notable in attacking the difficulties being faced by English teams within the Heineken Cup. He has also appeared in the news for his radical increasing of the rotation system at Saracens, despite occasional controversy, either on account of lost chances by Saracens or accusations that rotational policy undermines the sport. Although this seems to be successful for McCall. McCall defeated Clermont to win Saracens' first European Semi-final to lead Saracens to the Heineken
Cup Final in 2014 where they lost to Toulon. In 2015 McCall's Saracens won the Premiership against Bath 28-16. The 2015–16 season saw McCall take his team to even higher heights by successfully completing the double. Saracens successfully retaining the Aviva Premiership trophy by defeating Exeter 28-20 while defeating
Racing 92 in the
second final of the European Champions Cup. McCall's rotation strategy proved particularly successful, enabling Saracens to win all 9 games in the Cup - a first in European rugby. While McCall has been significantly quieter in the media than his predecessor, he openly challenged the timing of an England training session shortly before the ECC began which led to multiple player injuries. The 2016–17 season would allow a double at the ECC Cup, beating Clermont 28-17 before an early knock-out in the AP, losing in the semi-finals against Exeter. Heading into the 2017/18 season McCall would note the knock-on effects of the
Lions tour – tiredness and, especially, lack of pre-season time. This looked to become true as Saracens fell into a seven-game losing streak (the worst in over a decade) towards the end of 2017, with a bare mathematical scrape into the ECC Quarter-Finals. Saracens would then be knocked out against Leinster (the ultimate ECC champions), their earliest departure in six years. In April 2021, he signed a four-year contract extension which will see him remain at Saracens until at least the 2024–25 season. In January 2022 it was confirmed he would take a short break from the role for medical reasons. He returned in March 2022. On 27 May 2023, he won his sixth English Premiership Rugby title, beating 35–25
Sale Sharks in the
final. ==Personal life==