Grayson McCall addresses future in coaching after retiring from playing career

After another head injury, Grayson McCall decided to hang up his shoulder pads. The NC State and former Coastal Carolina quarterback announced he’d be retiring from football last week, ending a six-year career across two programs.

Although his playing career is over, McCall isn’t walking away from the game entirely. He hopes to go into coaching, and he walked reporters through that plan Tuesday.

As it turns out, McCall is already getting a taste of the coaching life. NC State coach Dave Doeren and quarterbacks coach Kurt Roper have been letting him into meetings and allowing him to work with CJ Bailey. It’s a way for him to see what it’s like to be on a staff, and so far, he’s enjoying it.

“I think it’s [a rather] quick transition,” McCall said. “I’m obviously blessed to have a coach like Coach Doeren and Coach Roper and his staff here that are kind of letting me get my feet wet now. Kind of serving that role now in helping CJ and helping the other guys. Sitting through coaches meetings and things like that just to get my feet wet and see how I like it.

“I’m blessed with the opportunity to be able to do that here and kind of get things started. I’m excited to see where it goes.”

A coaching career can begin a few places. For some, it starts at the high school level. For others, it begins with a graduate assistant role with a college program before moving on to a bigger role.

McCall hopes to stay in college football, though. Considering his experience with multiple coaching staffs, he has a network to start working his way up.

“I’d like to start at the college level, if possible. Obviously played for three different staffs and have a lot of connections throughout the country involved with college football. Hopefully, I get the opportunity and I can make the best of it, and we’ll go from there.”

Grayson McCall spent five years at Coastal Carolina, where he burst onto the national scene under Jamey Chadwell. He put together an impressive three-year run from 2020-22, throwing for at least 20 touchdowns each season. His biggest campaign came in 2021 when he completed 73% of his passes for 2,873 yards and 27 tochdowns.

All told, during his time with the Chanticleers, McCall threw for 10,005 yards and 88 touchdowns. He then entered the transfer portal after the 2023 season and committed to NC State for his final year of college football, where he threw for 518 yards and two touchdowns before his injury.