Edward Thomas McCaffrey, Jr. (born August 17, 1968) 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 wit ...

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 ma ...

(NFL) for thirteen seasons. McCaffrey played college football for Stanford University and earned first-team All-American honors. 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 divisio ...

chose him in the third round of the

1991 NFL Draft The 1991 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 21–22, 1991, at the Marriott ...

. He also played for 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 ...

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 headquar ...

. He served as the head coach of the

Northern Colorado Bears football The Northern Colorado Bears football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Northern Colorado located in Greeley, Colorado. The team competes in the Big Sky Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Champio ...

team from 2020–2022.

High school career

McCaffrey was born in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...

at Allentown Central Catholic High School in

Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California *Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County *Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Taz ...

, where he competed in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. McCaffrey was also a standout basketball player for Allentown Central Catholic High School, leading the school to state titles in 1984 and 1986.

College career

He played college football at Stanford University. McCaffrey finished his football career as Stanford's 5th all time leader in receptions (146) and third in receiving yards (2,333). He earned first-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

and All-Pac-10 Conference honors as a senior in 1990 after catching 61 passes for 917 yards and eight touchdowns. McCaffrey was enshrined in Stanford's athletic Hall of Fame in 1990. 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 consider ...

, he was a member of the

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national socia ...

fraternity.

Professional career

McCaffrey was selected by the Giants in the third round (83rd overall) in the

1991 NFL draft The 1991 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 21–22, 1991, at the Marriott ...

. During his thirteen-year career, he won three Super Bowl rings (

Super Bowl XXIX Super Bowl XXIX was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion San Diego Chargers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champi ...

, as a 49er; XXXII and

XXXIII 33 (thirty-three) is the natural number following 32 and preceding 34. In mathematics 33 is: * the largest positive integer that cannot be expressed as a sum of different triangular numbers. * the smallest odd repdigit that is not a prime num ...

, as a Bronco) and made a

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

appearance in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. In

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, he became a reliable target for quarterback

John Elway John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American professional football executive and former quarterback who is the president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Elway played college f ...

, set a Broncos record for most receptions in a season at the time (with 101 receptions in 2000), and had an exceptional performance in Super Bowl XXXIII, recording five catches for 72 yards. Also in 2000, McCaffrey and teammate

Rod Smith Rod, Rodney or Roderick Smith may refer to: Sports * Rod Smith (sportscaster), sportscaster with The Sports Network * Rodney Smith (skateboarder), American skateboarder, co-founder of Zoo York * Rodney Smith (cricketer) (born 1944), English cricket ...

became only the second wide receiver duo from the same team to each gain 100 receptions in the same season (see Herman Moore and

Brett Perriman Brett Perriman (born October 10, 1965) is a former American football wide receiver in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints (1988–1990), the Detroit Lions (1991–1996), the Kansas City Chiefs (1997), and the Miami Dolphins (1997). He played coll ...

). In the opening game of the Broncos' 2001 season, McCaffrey suffered a leg fracture while playing a ''

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...

'' game with the Broncos against the Giants. He rebounded in the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...

season with 69 receptions and 903 yards. Hampered by injuries during a disappointing

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

season, McCaffrey retired on February 29, 2004. He finished his career with 565 career receptions for 7,422 yards along with 55 touchdowns.

NFL career statistics

Coaching career

Valor Christian High School

McCaffrey was named the head football coach at

Valor Christian High School Valor Christian High School is a private, Christian high school in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, United States. The school colors are Navy blue, Columbia blue, and white, and the school nickname is ''The Eagles''. Valor has four major focuses: Academ ...

in February 2018.

Northern Colorado

On December 12, 2019, 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 change ...

hired McCaffrey as head football coach. He was fired from the position on November 21, 2022.

Head coaching record

Life after football

McCaffrey began coaching youth football camps in the summer of 2000. In 2011, he founded SportsEddy, which includes not just football but lacrosse, soccer, baseball and basketball camps. The Ed McCaffrey "Dare to Play" football camp and the "Dare to Cheer" cheerleading camp for individuals with Down syndrome are produced in partnership with the Global Down Syndrome Foundation. McCaffrey also founded the McCaffrey Family Foundation with wife Lisa, to assist children whose medical situation has created an academic or financial hardship. He also has his own brand of mustard and horseradish sauce, which can be found in supermarkets across Colorado and into Nebraska. On July 30, 2012, McCaffrey was named the new color analyst for 850 KOA, flagship station of the Denver Broncos Radio Network, replacing Brian Griese. On January 7, 2019, it was announced he would serve as the commissioner of the

Pacific Pro Football Pacific Pro Football, also called Pacific Pro League (Pac Pro), was a planned professional american football development league. The league would be a single entity, owning all the teams, and play during summers from July to August. The league wa ...

league, a planned professional development football league founded by Don Yee.

Personal life

McCaffrey is the oldest of five children, with two brothers and two sisters: Monica (who played basketball at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Billy Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge * Billy, a youn ...

(who played basketball at Duke University and

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

), Michael, and Meghan. McCaffrey met his wife, Lisa (Sime), daughter of

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

sprinter Dave Sime, while they both attended Stanford University. Together, they have four sons, all of whom have played football. Their eldest,

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

, was a wide receiver who played college football at

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

. He was on the rosters of several different NFL teams from 2016–2018, and served as the Offensive Coordinator at

Northern Colorado Northern Colorado is the name for a region in the state of Colorado and a proposed state in the northeastern portion of Colorado. Region Northern Colorado is a region in the northern portion of Colorado. It borders northwestern Colorado, northe ...

under his father.

Christian McCaffrey Christian Jackson McCaffrey (born June 7, 1996) is an American football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Stanford and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers eighth overa ...

was a four-star

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

for the Valor Eagles between 2010 and 2014. During that time, he also played wide receiver,

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...

and punter. He broke numerous Colorado high school records including career total

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...

(141), career all purpose yards (8,845), career touchdown receptions (47), and single season all-purpose yards (3,032). He was the

Gatorade Football Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' and girls' cross country, boys' football, boys' a ...

for Colorado in both 2012 and 2013. He also played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. He was a

for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of June, 2022, Stanford's program has won 131 NCAA team championships. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 46 consecutive ...

between

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

and 2016, and was the runner-up for the 2015 Heisman Trophy against

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

's Derrick Henry in the 2015 voting. He left school a year early after the 2016 season and was drafted with the eighth pick in the first round of the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia ...

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. ...

. Christian was later traded to the

in the middle of the 2022-2023 season, following in his dad’s footsteps once again. Dylan McCaffrey was a four-star quarterback for Valor Christian who graduated in 2017. His team won the Colorado Class 5A state championship (5A being the highest of the five classes) in three of the four years he played. As the second-ranked quarterback in the country and top-ranked quarterback in Colorado, Dylan received scholarship offers from

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, Rutgers, LSU,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, Washington,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

, Colorado State and

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High ...

. He committed to play college football at Michigan in February 2016. In January 2021, he announced his transfer to

. The youngest son, Luke McCaffrey, graduated Valor Christian in May 2019. He received an offer from

, along with an offer from

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...

. He committed to Nebraska in June 2018. In February 2021, he announced he was transferring to the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

. On June 9, 2021, he re-entered the transfer portal, and on June 14, he announced that he was transferring to

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

References

External links

EdMcCaffrey.com

SportsEddy.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCaffrey, Ed 1968 births Living people American football wide receivers Denver Broncos announcers Denver Broncos players High school football coaches in Colorado New York Giants players National Football League announcers Northern Colorado Bears football coaches San Francisco 49ers players Stanford Cardinal football players All-American college football players American Conference Pro Bowl players Allentown Central Catholic High School alumni Sportspeople from Allentown, Pennsylvania Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania Ed Block Courage Award recipients