Mike Kafka’s starting point comes with plenty of Giants questions

Nothing. And everything. 

That is what the Giants have to play for as their Dumpster of a season rolls into Sunday’s game against the Packers at what will be a green-and-gold, Green Bay-infused melange filling the seats at MetLife Stadium. 

The erstwhile head coach, Brian Daboll, was fired 10 games into this 2025 mess, and that figures to be the bulk of the bloodletting for now. But not forever. 

Mike Kafka makes his debut as the interim head coach and Jameis Winston makes his Giants debut as the starting quarterback, but that newness could be overwhelmed by a same-old, same-old product splattered across the field for all to see, again. 

At 2-8, the Giants are once more embedded in last place in the NFC East, and they know with certainty their season will end the moment the game clock expires in their Week 18 meeting with the Cowboys. We do not exactly know what day that will be — the last two weeks of the NFL schedule are in flex schedule limbo — but we do know it will end well before the serious teams are gearing up for the playoffs. 

New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston (19) throws during the first half against the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST

So, what does this game mean? 

“The human nature thing would be we have two wins through 10 weeks and we have seven weeks left, and some people would pack it in because our head coach got fired,” Darius Slayton said. “The reality of this league is that with change comes change, and you don’t know whether you will or will not be a part of those changes. So it would behoove you as an individual to do your best over these seven weeks and give your best effort and try to get some wins on the board, in order to try to keep yourself in a Giants uniform.” 

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Slayton, who is out this week with a hamstring injury, is in his seventh season with the Giants — he and Dexter Lawrence are the longest-tenured players on the team — and this sort of internal motivation is nothing new to him. After all, this is the third time in the past three years that the Giants managed to win just two of their first 10 games. 

This is a starting point for Kafka, though, and perhaps that resonates with the players and prompts them to ditch their losing ways for at least one afternoon. 

Kafka has never been a head coach at any level, and this will be an abrupt change of role for him. For the first time, it will be Kafka deciding to go for it or punt on fourth down, when to throw the red challenge flag, what to do with his timeouts, how to deal with the expected rain. All this, while also retaining his play-caller duties on offense. 

Kafka said he will lean on Ty Siam, the director of football data and innovation, and Cade Knox, the offensive assistant/game manager, in the press box for guidance. This was Daboll’s in-game strategic team, as well. 

New York Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka speaks to the media during practice at the Quest Diagnostics center, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST

“Just like we talked through it throughout the rest of the week, just going through our plan for how we’re going to manage the game … all of those things that we’ve talked through throughout the training camp,” Kafka said, “but now that I’m the decision-maker, that will be just kind of ramped up a little bit more, and we have to spend a little bit more time on it.” 

With Jaxson Dart in the concussion protocol, Kafka will not be able to lean on the dynamic rookie quarterback, and that figures to take away a big part of why the offense has been successful the past seven games. 

No one is expecting Kafka to snap his fingers and turn the Giants into winners. He will present a different emotional profile on the sideline from the combustible Daboll. 

Slayton said Kafka “definitely has some fire and passion in him. At the same time, he’s probably naturally a little bit more of a calmer personality. That can be helpful, especially in a high-pressure game that we’re in week in and week out, that calming presence can be beneficial.” 

Tight end Theo Johnson told The Post, “I like his leadership style. He’s not always the guy who’s always going to be ripping you a new one, but he does a good job of relating to everybody, knowing how to get through to each individual player. That’s what makes him a good leader.” 

Kafka is 0-0 as the interim head coach. But the Giants are 2-8, and it remains to be seen what they are playing for the rest of the way. 

“We have the right kind of guys around here and I think guys will go out there and give their best effort,” Slayton said. “If this is your first time going through this, you just don’t know. But I do know.”