BOULDER — In an alternate reality, Dylan McCaffrey is running behind Ralphie on Friday night.
Along some other timeline, he might even be sharing a CU backfield with little brother Luke. The first family of Colorado football, reunited, steering the Buffs to Pac-12 glory.
This reality, though?
This reality, not so much.
“Well, oddly enough, not all of them were offered scholarships,” former Broncos great and UNC football coach Ed McCaffrey told The Post when asked about his sons — and, more specifically, why none of them suited up at CU.
“And also, (with) a couple of them, there were coaching changes (in Boulder) when they were coming out of high school.
“So if you had asked me, (while they were) growing up, if one of them would’ve gone to CU, I would’ve said, ‘Probably, yeah.’ But it just didn’t work out that way.”
Dylan is suiting up for a local team this week — but it’s his father’s UNC Bears, who’ll face the Buffs at Folsom Field under the lights Friday in the season opener for both programs.
The Bears’ newest QB transferred home from Michigan. Luke had signed with Nebraska out of Valor Christian only to jump to Louisville, then Rice. Max was a standout under David Cutcliffe, Peyton Manning’s old passing sensei, at Duke. Christian dominated at Stanford, Ed’s alma mater.
They were the ones that got away. The ones that always got away. Luke rated as 247Sports’ No. 1 in-state player for the Class of ’19. Dylan was the recruiting site’s No. 2 in-state player two classes earlier. Christian was numero uno for 2014. Max was No. 15 in 2012.
It’s one of those great what-ifs in recent CU football history: The McCaffreys and the Buffs, those great star-crossed lovers of the Front Range.
Which brings us to one of the biggest elephants still left in the room:
How did the marriage of those sons-of-Ed and CU gold not happen? Why didn’t it happen?
Pops McCaffrey paused.
“It’s been tumultuous (at CU),” the UNC coach replied. “But it looks like they have pretty good stability and a very high level of talent right now under coach (Karl) Dorrell.”
Blame timing.
Blame turnover.
The Buffs are on their fourth football coach since 2011 and their third since 2017. And while Mike MacIntyre (2013-18) won a division title and is still the only CU football coach to appear in a Pac-12 championship game, the man didn’t exactly slap a padlock on the gates when it came to keeping local talent.
“(McCaffrey) has four boys, and they’re all very successful,” Dorrell said Tuesday following practice. “And the reason why they’re successful is that there (was) a lot of coaching going on in the McCaffrey household. And they obviously extended it when they went to their separate universities.
“So that’s part of (Ed’s) fabric. So I believe this is a great profession for him, and he’ll do a great job (with the Bears). And I just don’t want it to happen on Friday.”
With the exception of a brief stint as the offensive coordinator at Vanderbilt, Dorrell spent most of this past decade, the McCaffrey decade, coaching in the NFL. He’s signed with CU through December 2024. If you’re a Buffs fan, the second-year coach represents a chance to make sure the next first football family of Colorado sees something in Boulder that Ed’s kids did not:
Certainty.
Consistency.
Starting at the very top.
“All my kids went up there to camps (at CU) in the summer,” the elder McCaffrey recalled. “And I’ve been friends with multiple CU coaches over the years, and assistant coaches, and played in golf tournaments (with them).
“And a lot of those guys are in my football family. Including Karl, who was my receivers’ coach with the Broncos. So (I’ve got) a lot of love for those guys. A lot of history.”
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