[9] Described as "Yorkshire born and bred", McClaren's ancestors worked variously as miners, brewers, cotton mill workers, labourers and farmworkers, as well as in domestic service.

[12] The pair won promotion to the Premier League in their first season in charge, establishing themselves in this division and later enjoyed further consolidation in the top flight.

[15] With a positive reputation and closely linked with three Premier League vacancies, Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson won the race to appoint him after McClaren turned down Southampton and West Ham United.

[19] In his first season, Middlesbrough reached the FA Cup semi-final, knocking out his previous employers Manchester United in the fourth round,[20] but lost 0–1 to Arsenal.

[citation needed] In the 2003–04 season, McClaren guided Boro to victory in the League Cup with a 2–1 win over Bolton Wanderers in the final.

[23] In the following close season, McClaren was able to attract proven players Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Michael Reiziger and Mark Viduka to Middlesbrough.

[24] The signings paid dividends as the club reached the round of 16 in the UEFA Cup, having beaten more experienced sides such as Lazio,[25] before being eliminated by Sporting CP.

[29] During a 4–0 defeat at home to Aston Villa, a Middlesbrough fan ran onto the pitch and threw his season ticket at McClaren signifying his disgust at the club's performances.

[34] McClaren was accused by rival managers of having a "pot of gold" provided by Gibson to buy players, giving him an advantage over other teams, except perhaps the biggest few clubs in the league.

[28] After Eriksson announced in January 2006 that he would leave as England manager after the 2006 World Cup finals, McClaren was placed on the FA's shortlist to succeed him, alongside Sam Allardyce, Alan Curbishley, Martin O'Neill and Luiz Felipe Scolari.

[51] McClaren was also backed by players Phil Neville and Steven Gerrard, his predecessor Eriksson,[52] and the chief executive of the League Managers Association, John Barnwell.

[55] The following day, the FA held an emergency meeting and decided to sack McClaren from his post along with his assistant manager Terry Venables.

[4] There had been considerable media criticism over McClaren's tactics and player selection, particularly the poor results without Beckham in the lineup, and then having the inexperienced Scott Carson instead of Paul Robinson for the crucial match against Croatia.

[59] In May, McClaren had a brief spell coaching then League Two side Darlington, assisting his former Derby County and Oxford United teammate Dave Penney.

The club went on to secure second place in the Eredivisie behind winners AZ, reached the final of the KNVB Cup (losing on penalties to Heerenveen)[68][69] and on the European front, the club survived group stages in the UEFA Cup, having beaten amongst others Racing de Santander and Schalke 04, managed by McClaren's predecessor at Twente, Fred Rutten.

[88][89] In the press conference after being unveiled as manager, McClaren said his return to Twente was "an easy decision" to make, and wanted to set his sights on winning the Eredivisie title.

[91] In the January transfer window, McClaren caused controversy when he sold one of their best strikers, Marc Janko, to Porto for approximately £5 million.

[citation needed] After a disappointing sixth place, Twente invested in new players including Dušan Tadić and Luc Castaignos.

[citation needed] After growing criticism from supporters, McClaren resigned his position on 26 February 2013,[95] stating: "We agree the Club is bigger than any one individual and Twente is too big in my heart to stand in the way of its progress.

"[96] On 2 July 2013, McClaren became part of Harry Redknapp's coaching staff at Queens Park Rangers in the Championship after agreeing a short-term, three-month deal.

[citation needed] However, In September, McClaren returned to Derby County when he was appointed head coach to replace Nigel Clough, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract.

[97] He appointed former Derby winger Paul Simpson and former Manchester United goalkeeping coach Eric Steele to his backroom staff.

[97] Derby's first match following McClaren's appointment was at home to Ipswich Town, though academy manager Darren Wassall took charge of the team.

After beating Brighton & Hove Albion over two legs in the semi-finals,[103][104] Derby faced McClaren's former employers QPR in the final at Wembley Stadium, where they lost 1–0 to a last minute Bobby Zamora goal.

[105] Derby enjoyed a strong opening two-thirds of the 2014–15 season, topping the table on three separate occasions and reaching the League Cup quarter-finals.

[106] On 10 June 2015, McClaren was appointed as the replacement for caretaker manager John Carver as head coach of Premier League side Newcastle United.

[107] He was also appointed to the Newcastle United board of directors, along with chief scout Graham Carr and club ambassador Bobby Moncur.

[108] On 18 October, after eight matches without a win, McClaren won his first Premier League game as manager of Newcastle with a 6–2 home victory against Norwich City.

[117] McClaren was dismissed as QPR manager on 1 April 2019 following a 2–1 home defeat to Bolton Wanderers on 30 March 2019 and a run of one win in 15 games.

[120] On 23 May 2022, it was confirmed that McClaren would be returning to Manchester United to join first team manager Erik ten Hag as part of his backroom coaching staff.