[1] After persistent injury curtailed his local playing career and premature retirement at 27, he first began coaching Newtown & Chilwell's reserves.

[3] Shortly after the conclusion of the 2011 AFL season, McCartney was appointed as the senior coach of the Western Bulldogs under a three-year contract, replacing the outgoing caretaker senior coach Paul Williams, who replaced Rodney Eade, after Eade stepped down during the 2011 season with three games left to go in the season after Eade was told he would not receive a contract extension for the Bulldogs.

McCartney guided Bulldogs to finish fifteenth on the ladder again for the second straight year in a row at the end of the 2013 season, this time with eight wins and fourteen losses.

[13] In the 2014 season, McCartney guided Bulldogs to finish fourteenth on the ladder with seven wins and fifteen losses.

[14][15][16][17] When captain Ryan Griffen announced he wanted to leave the club the day before McCartney's resignation, it was reported that McCartney's relationship with Griffen caused him to want to leave the club.

[25][26][27] In October 2019, McCartney stated that he left the Melbourne Football Club after he "started losing the drive and motivation that came with preparing the team both during the weekend and on game day" and "I just felt myself losing a love of the element to the week, I stepped forward and said to the coaches in a bit of mid-season review that it was time to step back".