Mike

Kafka

He’s not the offensive coordinator — that’s Drew Petzing — but Kafka will apparently be another offensive mind in the room for Dan Campbell. It’s a coup for the Lions considering Kafka had interviewed to be an offensive coordinator in Detroit, Philadelphia, Tampa, and with the Giants this offseason. He’ll hope to rehab his coaching image after a fairly benign interim coach showing after Brian Daboll was swept out of power in New Jersey.

The team completed the interview Saturday following the parting of ways with former offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who was fired earlier in the week. The change comes in the wake of a 6.9 points per game decrease in scoring compared to their Super Bowl-winning season in 2024, meaning quarterback Jalen Hurts will operate with a sixth offensive coordinator in his seventh professional season when the new league year begins.

Schrager puts Monken at the top of the list. Earlier today, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that Monken is “among the leading candidates” for the role. He should probably be considered the favorite. However, the four remaining candidates are Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka, Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, former Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury and Browns OC Tommy Rees.

Kafka also has an interview scheduled with the Lions for their offensive coordinator vacancy. The Giants offense struggled for most of last year, though they did use three quarterbacks including rookie Jaxson Dart. Kafka never actually played with a full suite of options as Giants offensive coordinator and would be mildly interesting in a spot with better personnel. His roots with Andy Reid have led several reporters to conclude he might draw an interview there once the Chiefs moves on from Matt Nagy. (Or once Matt Nagy moves on from the Chiefs.)

This could prove to be a great move by the Giants in the long run. Kafka has long been viewed as a riser in the coaching ranks and has interviewed with multiple teams for their head coaching vacancies in each of the last two seasons. He received a second interview from the Seahawks in 2024 and the Saints in 2025. A former QB turned coach, Kafka joined the coaching ranks with the Chiefs in 2017 and spent five seasons with them before being hired as the Giants’ OC in 2022. This offseason he was elevated to assistant head coach in addition to serving as offensive coordinator. Five years with a competent organization and coaching alongside Andy Reid are both plusses on Kafka’s resumé. If he proves capable of breathing life into the 2-8 Giants, there’s a good chance the Giants take the interim tag off him in the upcoming offseason.

The Giants rolled out a disastrous offense with Daboll calling the plays in 2024 and finished 31st in the league in points per game. They were far better off with Kafka calling plays in 2023, when they finished... 30th in points per game. Kafka called plays for the G-Men during the preseason this year, foreshadowing his return to the role. Quarterback talent has ultimately been the issue on offense, regardless of who has been calling the shots over the past couple of seasons. The Giants are hoping to solve that issue with Russell Wilson under center. If Wilson stumbles, the turn to rookie Jaxson Dart could be quicker than expected.

“There is a feeling that by handing that responsibility back to Mike Kafka, the offensive coordinator, Daboll would be in a better position to manage the entire team, sitting in on defensive meetings and expanding his focus to make sure small details do not fall through the cracks,” Schwartz writes. Of course, Kafka is up for the Saints head coaching vacancy still, so that may be a road block for this plan. The journey of “Who is calling plays for the Giants?” is a long one under Daboll, much too long to go over in a blurb. But it’s pretty clear that the Giants were a better offense when Kafka called plays in 2022 than they were in 2024 when Daboll did. Perhaps this is something to look out for if the Saints hand their job to Kellen Moore or Mike McCarthy.

Kafka has served as the offensive coordinator for the Giants for each of the previous three seasons and appears to be close to securing his first head coaching job. He previously made the final round of interviews for the Seahawks and Cardinals in 2023 before staying with the Giants. Kafka is yet another young head coaching candidate in a recent wave of youth.

This isn’t the first time Kafka has made it to the final round of team interviews. The third-year offensive coordinator was also a finalist for the Seahawks’ head coaching job last offseason and the Cardinals’ head coaching job in 2023. He’s close to securing a job, and at just 37 years old, Kafka feels like a lock to get his chance at a head coaching gig eventually. It wouldn’t be surprising if we learn his fate for the Saints job in the coming days.

This is a great opportunity for one of the NFL’s up-and-coming offensive minds. Kafka is currently a candidate for both the Bears’ and Saints’ vacant head coach roles and the Senior Bowl gig gives him an in-depth opportunity to work with myriad players from the incoming rookie class. Any insight Kafka gleans from the experience could prove to be valuable for whichever NFL team he coaches for in 2025. Browns special teams coordinator and fellow assistant head coach Raymond “Bubba” Ventrone will serve as Kafka’s Senior Bowl counterpart.