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SAN DIEGO — High on the to-do list for the Chargers offense is juicing up the ground game, a pressing priority for a franchise whose last 1,000-yard rusher was Melvin Gordon in 2017.

Max McCaffrey is the team’s new running backs coach, and his last name should be familiar. His younger brother is Christian McCaffrey, All-Pro running back for the San Francisco 49ers and reigning comeback player of the year. Their father is longtime NFL receiver Ed McCaffrey, a favorite target of John Elway in Denver.

So Max knows his stuff about building a running attack, even though he was a receiver at Duke and had only fleeting stints with five NFL franchises, more often on the practice squads than the active rosters.

Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel noted with a half-smile that because Max is “definitely not the most athletic in his family,” his work ethic is “astronomically higher” than most.

Max , 32, chuckled Wednesday when informed of that wisecrack, conceding that he’s got some pretty stiff competition in his family. His dad has three Super Bowl rings — one with San Francisco, two with Denver — and mom, Lisa, was a standout soccer player at Stanford. In addition to Christian, 30, Max has brothers Dylan, 27, a former quarterback at Michigan and Northern Colorado; and Luke, a receiver and return specialist for the Washington Commanders.

They might not be quite as prominent as the Mannings or Kelces, but when it comes to football’s royal families, the McCaffreys are in the conversation.

Chargers running backs coach Max McCaffrey, left, works with running back Keaton Mitchell at training camp in El Segundo on Aug. 1.

(Los Angeles Chargers)

“I love my brothers,” Max said. “I’ll do anything for them, and I just want to see them succeed and chase what they’re passionate about.”

That certainly doesn’t quell his competitive nature, however, and he’ll have more than one chance in his current role to see brother Christian up close. The Chargers and 49ers will hold a joint practice at the Bolt on Aug. 18, and the teams will meet again in a Thursday night game on Dec. 17 at SoFi Stadium.

“My brother’s been my best friend and one of my biggest mentors my entire life,” Christian told The Times Wednesday. “We’re always bouncing ideas off each other. Obviously, he played receiver, but he has such a massive knowledge for football in general. He’s been a coordinator. He’s coached different position groups. Now that he’s got the running back job, it’s so fun just bouncing ideas off of each other.

“I never think I have it all figured out, so getting tips from him feels very familiar.”

Likewise, Max said that while Christian doesn’t share trade secrets with him, he does tap into the running back know-how of his younger brother, collecting tidbits on how best to train and prepare players for the rigorous job.

The eldest McCaffrey son called the 49ers star “the most intentional person I know.”

“He wakes up with a purpose,” Max said. “His day is planned from the second he wakes up to the minute he goes to sleep.”

That’s the kind of laser focus that can help a young running back such as Omarion Hampton, selected 22nd overall by the Chargers in the 2025 draft.

Ed McCaffrey was head coach at Northern Colorado from 2020-22 and had Max on his staff all three seasons, first as receivers coach, then as offensive coordinator for the final two seasons.

“I think it’s tremendous,” Ed said of his son’s play-calling experience. “It’s tremendous for the whole process because it allows you to set your vision as to how much you need to own at the NFL level running an offense.

“He got to really invest into the details across all positions, getting a firm, tangible example of what he needs from position coaches. So to be prepared to be a position coach, I think it directly helped him in that process.”

When McDaniel was head coach of the Miami Dolphins, he brought on Max as an offensive assistant from 2023-25. When McDaniel got the Chargers job, he brought Max with him, giving him a key position to oversee.

Chargers running backs coach Max McCaffrey, working with running back Kimani Vidal in offseason workouts in May, said, “I love my brothers. I’ll do anything for them, and I just want to see them succeed and chase what they’re passionate about.”

(Los Angeles Chargers)

Joked McDaniel: “For fantasy owners out there, if you’re not liking your output, you have Max to blame.”

Max got his name from a since-closed restaurant at the Stanford mall called Max’s Opera Cafe, where Ed and Lisa had their first date.

Since, he has worked hard to make a name for himself, and the spotlight is only growing.

It was a familiar sight: Caitlin Clark stepped to her left, paused and lofted a right-handed layup.

But looming tall, Cameron Brink smacked it out of bounds, caught on camera yelling a couple of curse words before chest-bumping teammate Erica Wheeler so hard she tumbled backward.

That’s the Brink that the Sparks were hoping for this season, and the version of the third-year center they fully expect to shine.

“That was quite the highlight,” coach Lynne Roberts said last week. “That’s what we see in practice, she’s been like that. I was just smiling. … I’m so proud of her.”

After the first game of the season, a 105-78 loss to Las Vegas, Roberts was asked about Brink playing only eight minutes, when she was a minus-19.

“We need Cam to produce,” Roberts said. “We need Cam to bring that defensive energy. We have so much confidence and belief in her. She’s got to get out on the floor with some confidence and do what she’s capable of doing.”

After the next game, when Brink contributed 11 points with five rebounds in that 87-78 loss to Indiana, Roberts wanted to end “the narrative” that the 24-year-old was off to a slow start. Then she netted 10 points in 16 minutes during a defeat of the Toronto Tempo.

The Sparks are in win-now mode but are yet to prove this version of the team can do that. Brink would be a cornerstone player for almost any team in the league, yet she’s coming off the bench with high expectations for her to be one of the team’s most important players.

“My teammates aren’t gonna trust me if I don’t believe in myself,” said Brink, who is averaging 8.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. “Coaches, same thing. So, you know, I’ve had a slow start, but I’m putting in the work with the coaches. They work with me every day. We watch film, shoot a little extra.”

The Sparks need Brink this season. In her first two seasons, she had moments. With Dearica Hamby starting and the addition of Nneka Ogwumike, she is coming off the bench again after doing so last year for the first time since her freshman season at Stanford.

Roberts has said she wants at least two of them on the court at all times. Through the first four games, Brink has played 16.2 minutes per game and the Sparks are minus-29 points when she is on the court.

“Coming into the league, it’s interesting because a lot of times people feel like they have to do something different or more,” Ogwumike said. “But I think one thing that she’s done is she’s really leaned into who she is, and that that level of self assurance is something that I think really plays out when she’s on the court as well.”

In 38 career games, she is already 10th all-time in blocks in Sparks history. Brink dealt with a 13-month layoff after tearing her ACL and meniscus just 15 games into her rookie season, and was slowly re-integrated last season in 19 games.

Sparks forward Cameron Brink tries to power her way past a Tempo defender during agame May 15.

(Jeff Lewis / Asociated Press)

What could really separate the Sparks from the rest of the league, though, would be if Brink plays to her full potential as a sixth player. There are few players in that role who can take over a game the way she can.

“I definitely feel like I have an understanding for just the speed of the game, the nuances and what we’re doing,” Brink said. “The playbook this year is much easier because it was the same as last year.”

The Sparks rebuild started last season with the addition of Kelsey Plum, where they gave up the No. 2 pick to Seattle that would become Dominique Malonga. Then, this offseason they added Ogwumike, Ariel Atkins and Wheeler while trading away their other young star, Rickea Jackson.

The Sparks still gave up 90-plus points in three of their first four games. Brink has the second worst plus-minus rating on the team, but has also made some of their important defensive plays and has 1.8 blocks per game.

“She erases a lot of mistakes out there,” Ogwumike said. “Being able to be out there and know that she has my back, and we’re looking for each other to be in good spots to do well, yeah, I’m just, I’m just happy that we’re rebuilding our chemistry early and fast.”

Brink was a star at Stanford but became known for her fouling habits. As a pro, getting one extra foul to work with, has helped considerably. She’s averaged seven fouls per 36 minutes in her first two seasons.

But the new officiating mandate to allow more freedom of movement is another hurdle. The path to being an elite pro has not been easy for one of the most dynamic college players of the past half-decade, but this season seems essential for Brink and the Sparks to find themselves, together.

Moments like that block of Clark‘s shot are signs the player they need is in there.

“It’s one of those things where you’re in awe,” Ogwumike said. “But also, you know she can do that. I always tell her, go out there and release everything and be yourself. That was very much a Cam Brink play.”