Mike Kafka might wake up one morning and find himself an NFL head coach.
The Giants' 37-year-old offensive coordinator spoke with Saints leadership for the first time last week and is being flown to the Big Easy for a second interview on Tuesday. NFL.com reported.
Kafka and Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver (who also has second-round interviews scheduled for Wednesday, according to NFL.com) as New Orleans narrows down its list of candidates for the 19th head coach in franchise history. ) has emerged as a promising candidate.
Kafka, who has been a member of the Giants' coaching staff since Brian Daboll took over in 2022, is no stranger to the process, having been a finalist for three jobs in the past two cycles. There is.
The former journeyman quarterback's coaching stock has skyrocketed since his first year leading the Giants' offense in 2022.
Just one year after finishing 4-13, Daniel Jones and company won nine games, the most for the Giants since 2016, and advanced to the playoffs as a wild-card team, defeating the Minnesota Vikings in the opening game. We defeated them 31-24.
Jones, then in his fourth season, appeared to be turning a corner, throwing 15 touchdowns and only five interceptions. The then-25-year-old rushed for 1,312 yards and 10 touchdowns in the regular season, with Saquon Barkley's work in the backfield no doubt boosting his efforts.
However, as Giants fans are well aware, the transition to 2023 and beyond has not been a pretty one.
The Giants' offense slumped significantly the following season, ranking 30th in scoring and 29th in total yards, down 14th and 11th, respectively, from the previous year's performance.
This past season was even worse as the Giants finished 31st in scoring and 30th in total yards.
Despite a steady decline in offensive production, Kafka remains of interest to many teams with developing young quarterbacks.
In New Orleans, where the Derek Carr experiment has gone from bad to worse, it looks like 24-year-old Spencer Rattler will take over as center sooner rather than later.
This soon-to-be-sophomore work will not be Kafka's first specialty project.
Prior to joining the Giants' staff, he was the quarterbacks coach in Kansas City from 2018 to 2021, which coincided with Patrick Mahomes' first four seasons as the Chiefs' starter.
And after Kansas City won Super Bowl LIV in 2020, Kafka added the title of passing game coordinator to his resume.
Over the next two seasons, the Chiefs won four more games in the playoffs, and Mahomes earned his third and fourth consecutive Pro Bowl honors.
Kafka was given the additional title of Giants assistant head coach in February 2024.
