Hall of Fame
Dan McNally's 14-year coaching career at the University of Guelph saw him serve as head coach of the Gryphon football team from 1987-2000. During that time, he recorded 50 regular season wins, the most by any coach in program history, while leading the Gryphons to a pair of Yates Cup titles in 1992 and 1996. During the 1996 season, McNally was named the CIAU (U SPORTS) Coach of the Year, and to this day, he remains the only Gryphon football coach in program history to be named the recipient of the Frank Tindall Trophy as the national coach of the year in Canadian university football. During Coach McNally's tenure, the Gryphons had 96 players named OUA All-Stars, 5 named OUA major award winners and 27 named U SPORTS All-Canadians. McNally's time at the University of Guelph was also marked by notable innovation and creativity within the coaching ranks at that time. Under Dan, the Gryphons implemented new zone-run schemes and three-step drops for quarterbacks, which at the time were revolutionary within Ontario university football. The use of computer technology and analytics, while the norm now within the sport, was adopted early on by McNally and his staff ahead of other universities across the province and country. McNally also broke new ground in the mental and psychological aspects of the game, leaning on University of Guelph professor, Daniel Yarmey, to help the team with visualization and meditation techniques. McNally was, in short, an innovator who made a lasting impact on the Gryphon football program both on and off the field.
