 During his playing career, he was never stopped for a loss on a running play.McLaren served as head football coach at Emporia State University, then known as Kansas State Normal College, (1919), the University of Arkansas (1920–1921), the University of Cincinnati (1922–1926), and the University of Wyoming (1927–1929), compiling a career record of 32–55–8.He also coached basketball at Wyoming for two seasons (1928–1930), tallying a mark of 28–10.