"We'd won in Beijing, I was 38 and the idea of reinventing the same wheel didn't particularly enthral me. I thought applying the stuff we were doing with the men and trying to apply that to a different section of the population would be interesting.
"Also, over here in the US, there are 83 men's volleyball teams at university level and I think well over 1000 women's teams.
"With all of these college programmes going on, it provides a model for possible sustained excellence. We thought that was the bigger challenge. How do we make something that lasts?"
So far the signs are promising. The US women have plundered the last two titles in the annual FIVB World Grand Prix and are currently ranked No 2 in the world behind Brazil. McCutcheon believes the blend of youth and experience - the former provided by emerging star Destinee Hooker and the latter by old steady hands such as Logan Tom - gives them a nice balance, although he insists the women's game boasts "a lot of depth" and he cites world champions Russia, Brazil, Japan, China, Italy, Poland and Turkey as major players in the global game.
The immediate target, though, for he and assistant coach Karch Kiraly - the only man to win Olympic volleyball gold in both the beach and indoor formats - is qualification for London.
"It is critical," insists McCutcheon. "You want to qualify as soon as possible, as this means the more sleep you are going to get at least for a couple of months," he says. "Yet with the men in 2007, we got fourth [in the World Cup] so just missed out. We ended up playing in the qualifiers and I think that actually really benefited us and helped us come together closer as a group."
Despite the glorious possibility of coaching a US team to Olympic gold at successive Games, he insists he is not obsessing on that goal.
"Winning the double with both genders is not something that really drives me," he says. "I would be really happy for this group if we were able to achieve that but my role is to facilitate. I'm not the one out there playing and getting the job done."
McCutcheon may have spent more than half his life away from New Zealand but he has retained a strong Kiwi lilt. He has a strong affinity with home, making annual visits - the last in February this year in the wake of the devastating earthquake which struck his hometown and where his 72-year-old mum still lives. "She was fine but her home suffered a bit of damage," he adds.
He still keeps a close eye on the volleyball scene in his homeland where he played for the New Zealand national junior and senior teams between 1988 and 1990. So, after his quest for double Olympic gold is over would he be tempted to return home and help New Zealand volleyball?
"I certainly wouldn't be opposed to it," he says. "When I go home, I like to do a clinic or share some of my experiences. I'm not sure what the future holds but I'm certainly not opposed to it."
