Northern Colorado Football

Northern Colorado offensive coordinator Max McCaffrey has been "officially reprimanded" for throwing a piece of broken clipboard into the stands and inadvertently hitting a fan during Saturday's game against Montana State.

According to The Athletic, the university determined that McCaffrey "showed a lack of judgment but no malicious intent." McCaffrey is the son of Northern Colorado head coach Ed McCaffrey, and the brother of Bears quarterback Dylan McCaffrey, as well as Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey.

The university reportedly reviewed the incident in conjunction with the Big Sky Conference and Montana State. According to the university, the fan requested the broken clipboard as a souvenir, and McCaffrey obliged.

"While Coach Max McCaffrey's tossing of a souvenir into the stands showed poor judgment, it was clear there was no intent to harm nor was the action fueled by anger," athletic director Darren Dunn said in a statement, via The Athletic. "Max is embarrassed by the incident and is working privately to apologize to the fan hit by the errant toss."

Dunn added, "After visiting with Max and the entire football staff, I am confident we will have no further engagement with fans of our opponents."

Max McCaffrey is currently in his second season on the Northern Colorado staff and his first as offensive coordinator.

He played wide receiver at Duke for four seasons. In three NFL seasons he failed to make an official roster and bounced around practice squads for the Green Bay Packers, Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Northern Colorado lost Saturday's game to Montana State 40-7 and is currently 2-3 on the season.     

Dylan McCaffrey, the younger brother of Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey, announced Sunday he is transferring from Michigan to Northern Colorado, where his father Ed is the head coach.

McCaffrey, who opted out of the 2020 season in September, entered the NCAA transfer portal last week. 

He has two years of eligibility remaining, having appeared in 13 games at quarterback since arriving in Ann Arbor in 2017 (h/t Aaron McMann of MLive.com). 

Before opting out, he was reportedly in the race for the starting job under center after backing up Shea Patterson in 2018 and 2019. Redshirt sophomore Joe Milton beat out redshirt freshman Cade McNamara and true freshman Dan Villari for the gig once McCaffrey elected to sit out, according to McMann.

The 4-star recruit redshirted his freshman season and was limited due to a broken collarbone in 2018 and a concussion in 2019. 

His Michigan career ends with 242 yards and three touchdowns on 18-of-35 passing, plus 166 rushing yards and two more scores. 

While head coach Jim Harbaugh will return, having signed an extension that keeps him in Ann Arbor through 2025 amid rumors he would head back to the NFL, McCaffrey is one of six Michigan players who have put their names in the NCAA transfer portal since the end of the season, per McMann. 

And he may not be the only member of his family on his way out of the Big Ten. Luke McCaffrey, who started two games and made seven appearances as a redshirt freshman quarterback at Nebraska this year, entered the transfer portal last week.

The younger McCaffrey finished 2020 with 466 passing yards, one touchdown and six interceptions. He was more productive on the run with 364 rushing yards and three scores on 65 carries.