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One of these mornings, Mike Kafka might wake up and find himself an NFL head coach.
The Giants’ 37-year-old offensive coordinator first spoke with Saints’ brass last week and is now being flown down to The Big Easy for a second interview on Tuesday, NFL.com reported.
As New Orleans whittles down its list of candidates for the 19th head coach in franchise history, Kafka and Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver — scheduled for a second-round interview Wednesday, also per NFL.com — have emerged as leading contenders.
Kafka, a member of the Giants’ coaching staff since Brian Daboll took over in 2022, is no stranger to this process — he’s been a finalist for three jobs in the previous two cycles.
The former journeyman quarterback saw his coaching stock soar after his first year leading the Giants’ offense in 2022.
Just one year after finishing 4-13, Daniel Jones and company collected nine wins — the Giants’ most since 2016 — made the playoffs as a wild-card team and then beat the Minnesota Vikings, 31-24, in the opening round.
Jones, then in his fourth season, threw 15 touchdowns to just five interceptions and seemed to be turning a corner. His efforts were indubitably bolstered by Saquon Barkley’s work in the backfield, as the then-25-year-old amassed 1,312 yards and ten touchdowns in the regular season.
But as Giants fans know all too well, the metamorphosis into 2023 and beyond was not a pretty one.
The Giants’ offense tumbled noticeably the following season, ranking 30th in scoring and 29th in total yards — a drop-off of 14 and 11 spots, respectively, from the marks set a year prior.
This past season was even worse as the Giants finished 31st in scoring and 30th in total yards.
Despite the steadily declining offensive production, Kafka remains of interest to a number of teams with young quarterbacks under development.
In New Orleans, where the Derek Carr experiment has gone from bad to worse, it seems as though Spencer Rattler, 24, will find himself under center sooner rather than later.
The soon-to-be sophomore wouldn’t be Kafka’s first pet project.
Prior to joining the Giants’ staff, he served as the quarterbacks coach in Kansas City from 2018 to 2021 — overlapping with Patrick Mahomes’ first four seasons as the Chiefs’ starting signal caller.
And after Kansas City won Super Bowl LIV in 2020, Kafka had the title of passing game coordinator added to his resume.
Over the following two seasons, the Chiefs went on to win four more playoff games and Mahomes earned his third and fourth consecutive Pro Bowl honors.
Kafka was given the additional title of assistant head coach for the Giants in February 2024.
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