Arriving as an assistant in 2009 and taking charge of the first-team in 2011, he is considered one of the greatest club managers of all time and holds the record for the most English championships won with six Premiership trophies.
[17] 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,[18] was notable in attacking the difficulties being faced by English teams within the Heineken Cup.
McCall's rotation strategy proved particularly successful, enabling Saracens to win all 9 games in the Cup - a first in European rugby.
[23] 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.
[24] 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.
[25][26] 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.
[27] 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.
[28] While McCall is frequently known as quiet and generally turns down interviews, his performances and widespread respect have also led to him being awarded the Aviva Premiership Director of Rugby in 2012/13, 2013/14, 2015/16 and 2018/19.
[2] A Queen's University Belfast graduate, McCall has a law degree (a qualification he shared with his brother, Peter) and during rugby union's amateur era he worked for the Independent Commission for Police Complaints.