McCauley later enrolled at the University of Michigan as a medical student. While at Michigan, he served as the head coach of the 1894 and 1895 Michigan Wolverines football teams.[3][4] He compiled a coaching record of 17–2–1, and his .875 winning percentage remains the second highest in the program's history. McCauley was a medical student at Michigan while he served as the coach of the football team. In his two seasons as head coach, the Wolverines lost only two games, once to Cornell and once to Harvard. In 1894, the Wolverines defeated Cornell, 12–4, the first time that a "western school" had beaten one of the established eastern football powers. He also served as an assistant coach for the 1896 Michigan football team.[5]