And his Port Adelaide counterpart Josh Carr isn't ready to declare his club has just started one.
"I see us transitioning," Carr said after a two-point loss to McQualter's Eagles at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
"We can have a down week and we can have a down half - that's some part of exploring with the team and seeing where it's at.
"But I'm not looking for a down year at all."
Carr's first season as Port's head coach has started with one win and two losses, while the Eagles (two wins, one loss) are suddenly flying with back-to-back wins for the first time in almost two years.
Second-year coach McQualter, asked if his club had emerged from its toughest of times, replied: "I don't really know how to answer that question because it's not like there's one moment where you change.
"We've been building for my whole time at the football club.
"We're evolving as a team, we're evolving as a club, and we feel like we're making progress.
"But we're still going to have a lot of challenges in front of us."
But McQualter was thrilled with the spirit and poise of his players as they overturned a 29-point second-term deficit to pip the Power.
"It's just showing a growing maturity, and also our leaders are standing up," he said.
"We have got an array of players across the field that are just having big moments - and that's what footy is about."Â
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