After parting ways with Darren Coleman last year, Waratahs chief executive Paul Doorn hailed the coach's contribution to NSW rugby.
"His instilment of 'Tah Tough' to the team's on field performances has been commendable, fostering a culture of teamwork and hard grind," Doorn said.
But the 'Tah Tough' mantra was sometimes referenced with a snigger from Super Rugby rivals.
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Darren Coleman and Jake Gordon. Stan
Coleman is a popular, likeable coach who connected with fans but the wheels fell off during last year's wooden spoon debacle.
A significant part of Coleman's problems was an outrageous run of injuries which has since been, embarrassingly, attributed to a shoddy training field in Sydney's eastern suburbs.
A front row crisis in particular made it difficult to be 'Tah Tough' as NSW were regularly bullied by opposition forward packs.
Jake Gordon, Dan McKellar and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii of the Waratahs. NSW Waratahs
But the sniggers have softened in the off-season following Dan McKellar's arrival as the new sheriff in Sydney.
The former Queensland prop has a proven track record as a hard nosed, no nonsense winner.
He oversaw consistently strong Brumbies teams in Canberra, improved the Wallabies forwards as Dave Rennie's assistant and is now cracking the whip in Australia's biggest rugby state.
Dan McKellar of the Brumbies at Mt Smart Stadium. Getty
"Dan's been really good. I just feel like the standards are a lot higher," Waratahs star Max Jorgensen tellingly told Wide World of Sports.
The preseason was brutal, with eyewatering weekly contact sessions at the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu studio in Botany.
"Dan's obviously very passionate about rugby and passionate about Australian rugby," NSW prop Angus Bell told Stan Sport ahead of the February 14 season opener against the Highlanders at Allianz Stadium.
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"And he believes that a stronger Tahs outfit goes a long way to helping the Australian game of rugby union. He just forces us to love the grind, to love the physicality of rugby.
"We're really excited because Dan is a high, high level coach, so we're super lucky to have him on board."
McKellar's timing couldn't be better.
The only way, literally, is up after last season's Annus horribilis and NSW now have solid foundations in place.
Simon Raiwalui is on board as director of performance while McKellar has surrounded himself with quality assistant coaches in Mike Catt, Dan Palmer and Lachlan McCaffrey.
The demanding and well credentialed Tom Carter has taken over as the head of athletic performance while the Waratahs were also the biggest beneficiaries of the Rebels sad demise.
Taniela Tupou and assistant coach Dan McKellar of the Wallabies celebrate in 2021. Getty
Wallabies Taniela Tupou, Andrew Kellaway, Rob Leota, Isaac Kailea and Darby Lancaster have all moved north from Melbourne – with Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii an expensive cherry on top.
"The NSW Waratahs are such an important part of the rugby landscape within Australia and obviously there's been some tough times in recent years," McKellar, who has signed on for three years, told Stan Sport.
"I'm just excited to help, to be honest, and create a program and an environment where we can ideally allow for some sustainable success over the next period of time.
Taniela Tupou and his son in Waratahs kit. NSW Waratahs
"But I'm also excited about the group of players that we've got.
"There's never a shortage of of talent in NSW. We've recruited well, we've also put together a really good group of staff and I think any head coach will tell you that you can't do it on your own.
"You need good people around you, good people that you trust.
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"We're just excited to to turn things around and continue to change the narrative and create positive stories for the game.
"Already, off the back of the Spring Tour, the narrative around the game has changed.
"There's plenty of positive talk around rugby and we've got a great opportunity, with the draw and a number of games at home in the early rounds, and a chance to build some momentum and get the NSW rugby community excited about the Waratahs again."
