Maxwell James McCaffrey (born May 17, 1994) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former wide receiver who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for three seasons. He is currently the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

for the

Bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the North ...

at the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

and signed with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2016.

College career

In 53 games at

(38 starts), McCaffrey caught 117 passes for 1,341 yards and 12 touchdowns, and twice received Academic All-ACC honors. In 2015, he started all 13 games, making 52 receptions for 643 yards (12.4 per catch) and five touchdowns.

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

On April 30, 2016, McCaffrey signed with the

as an undrafted free agent following the conclusion of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

. On August 29, 2016, he was released by the Raiders.

Green Bay Packers

On December 20, 2016, McCaffrey was signed to the Packers' practice squad. On January 21, 2017, McCaffrey was promoted to the active roster prior to the NFC Championship matchup against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

, as insurance for

Jordy Nelson Jordy Ray Nelson (born May 31, 1985) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League for 11 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and the Oakland Raiders. He played college football at Kansas State, where he ...

. However, he did not actually play in the championship game itself. He remained with the Packers through the ensuing offseason and the 2017 preseason, before being waived on September 2, 2017.

New Orleans Saints

On September 3, 2017, McCaffrey was signed to the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

' practice squad.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On September 12, 2017, McCaffrey was signed to the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

active roster off the Saints' practice squad after

Allen Robinson Allen Bernard Robinson II (born August 24, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, and pl ...

was placed on injured reserve. In Week 5, against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, he made his first NFL catch, a four-yard reception. He was waived by the Jaguars on October 21, 2017.

Green Bay Packers (second stint)

On October 24, 2017, McCaffrey was signed to the Packers' practice squad.

San Francisco 49ers

On December 13, 2017, McCaffrey was signed by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

to a two-year deal off the Packers' practice squad. On August 29, 2018, McCaffrey was waived/injured by the 49ers after having foot surgery and was placed on injured reserve. He was released the next day. He was suspended for the first four weeks of the season on September 7, 2018. He was reinstated from suspension on October 2. He was re-signed to the 49ers' practice squad on November 27, 2018. On December 29, 2018, McCaffrey was promoted to the active roster. On August 3, 2019, McCaffrey was waived by the 49ers.

DC Defenders

On October 15, 2019, McCaffrey was drafted in the 8th round of the 2019 XFL draft by the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha Acquico. The ...

. He was released before the start of the regular season due to accepting a job as the wide receivers coach for the

Northern Colorado Bears The Northern Colorado Bears are the athletic teams representing the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado in intercollegiate athletics. The university sponsors seventeen teams including men and women's basketball, cross country, gol ...

in January 2020. McCaffrey was suspended by the NFL for 10 weeks on October 25, 2019. He was reinstated from suspension on December 30, 2019.

Coaching career

McCaffrey joined his father on the

coaching staff as a wide receivers coach on January 14, 2020, after abruptly leaving the

days into training camp. McCaffrey was promoted to the Offensive Coordinator in the summer of 2021. As the OC, he still works with the wide receivers.

Personal life

Max is the son of Ed and Lisa McCaffrey. His younger brother

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, was drafted in the first round as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

, and played the same position at

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

. His younger brother Dylan plays for

, as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. His youngest brother, Luke, is now a

redshirt freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

wide receiver at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

. His father was a wide receiver in the National Football League for thirteen seasons from 1991–2003 where he played for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

and

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

. His uncle Billy, played two seasons of basketball at Duke and played on the 1991 national championship team before transferring to Vanderbilt and sharing SEC Player of the Year honors in 1992–93.

References

External links

Duke profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCaffrey, Max 1994 births Living people American football wide receivers DC Defenders players Duke Blue Devils football players Green Bay Packers players Jacksonville Jaguars players New Orleans Saints players Oakland Raiders players San Francisco 49ers players People from Castle Rock, Colorado Players of American football from Colorado Coaches of American football from Colorado Northern Colorado Bears football coaches Sportspeople from the Denver metropolitan area