Greg “Moose” McLain begins his ninth season as a member of the Redbird coaching staff, and his fourth as the team’s associate head coach.  McLain is in his sixth season in charge of the team’s tight ends and H-backs. 

McLain’s work with tight end James O’Shaughnessy helped the former Redbird gain attention from the professional ranks. In 2014, O’Shaughnessy caught 29 passes for 544 yards and tied for the team lead with nine receiving touchdowns.  He averaged 18.8 yards per catch and caught of pair of touchdowns in Illinois State’s loss to North Dakota State in the FCS Championship.  Those numbers helped O’Shaughnessy get drafted in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs and he has played four seasons in the NFL with the Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Before coming to ISU, McLain spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Greenbrier High School in Evans, Georgia, and worked as the team’s offensive coordinator during the final two seasons. 

His previous stop was at Samford, where he worked as a football academic coordinator from 2007-08, and monitored academic progress of the football team.

He moved into that position after receiving his master’s degree and working as a graduate assistant at Alabama from 2006-07. While working on the Crimson Tide coaching staff, McLain served as a recruiting/operations graduate assistant, and he was also an assistant NFL liaison/assistant camp director.     

McLain joined the coaching staff after he lettered as a fullback and tight end at Alabama from 2002 to 2005, after helping lead the Crimson Tide to two bowl appearances. He graduated from Alabama with his bachelor’s degree in human environmental sciences in December 2005 and earned his master’s degree in sport management from Alabama in May 2007.

He is married to Melissa (Steele) of North Augusta, S.C., and the couple resides in Normal, Ill., with their daughter, Olivia, and son, Cooper.