And so far so good.
Dion Ebrahim, who has led the side for the past three summers, is stepping down at the end of the campaign and has handed over the reins to McCord so he can get a taste of what it is like.
The change ushered in some immediate success. Otago rolled Canterbury by nine wickets in Alexandra.
The challenge is steeper today. The Volts are playing Wellington at the Basin Reserve and the home team has strengthened their lineup with a couple of Black Caps.
Test keeper Tom Blundell returns and will captain the Firebirds, while all-rounder Michael Bracewell will slot back into the side as well.
Otago welcomes back Thorn Parkes from an ankle complaint and left-arm quick Andrew Hazeldine replaces the injured Jarrod McKay in the 12.
The Volts will be keen to build on the improvements they have made since the start of the competition and McCord is hoping he can help bring out the best in his charges.
The Volts head coaching role is expected to be advertised in the offseason.
Otago Sparks coach Craig Cumming would be a strong contender should he put his name forward.
But McCord has the first crack at the role.
He has had a solid grounding as the assistant coach for the past three years and he has declared his intention to apply.
Coaching professional sport can be a brutal job. The players hog the spotlight when the results are going well, and the coach is left to explain when they are not.
But McCord is ready for the challenge and the inevitable scrutiny.
"I am," he responded.
"It sounds a little bit corny but I just start by making sure the players are happy. If they are in a good head space then they are training well and hopefully the process will take care of it [the results].
"We go out there to win but it is not the be-all and end-all, it is more of a motivator.
"But I always centre back to make sure the players are happy."
Ebrahim gave McCord his first opportunity when he asked him to be his assistant at the Volts nearly three years ago.
It was quite an upheaval for the family. They were based in Christchurch but wife Vicki was supportive and they moved south to Dunedin with sons Riley, 7, and Reid, 2. Reid was a newborn baby at the time.
"I owe everything to my wife Vicki. When the opportunity came she was right behind me.
"I was working at a plumber wholesaler in Christchurch, working there fulltime and doing two or three hours in coaching jobs, grinding away.
"The opportunity came and it felt like four or five weeks later I had my feet under the desk here."
McCord is a Timaru lad and played five first-class games and a T20 for Canterbury. He actually had a pretty good day at the University Oval against Otago in 2012 which he likes to keep quiet.
"I always say blink and you missed my first-class career. But that game was more memorable because I think it finished on a Thursday and I got married on the Friday.
"I was straight in the car after the game, straight home and got married the next day on Show Day."
Otago is between drinks as far as their own celebrations go. The province has not won the Plunket Shield since 1987-88. The Volts last list A title was 16 years ago and it collected the T20 title in 2013.
McCord has an enormous challenge ahead to reverse that trend should he be successful in his application.
"The group that we’ve got now, I genuinely have so much faith in them. And I do believe if we can keep the core together for three or four seasons, get that continuity, then I do believe we can buck that trend."
Plunket Shield
Basin Reserve, 10.30am
Otago: Jacob Cumming, Dale Phillips, Dean Foxcroft (captain), Thorn Parkes, Luke Georgeson, Jamal Todd, Max Chu, Ben Lockrose, Travis Muller, Andrew Hazeldine, Jacob Duffy, Jake Gibson.
Wellington: Tim Robinson, Nick Greenwood, Gareth Severin, Nick Kelly, Muhammad Abbas, Tom Blundell (captain), Michael Bracewell, Nathan Smith, Logan van Beek, Peter Younghusband, Iain McPeake, Michael Snedden.
