Mike Kafka is in demand. An Inside Look at the Giants’ Incredible Ascent to Potential NFL Head Coach

 

 

Mike Kafka’s then-boss made a pathetic attempt to intimidate him into remaining put when Chiefs coach Andy Reid contacted him in early 2017 to offer him a position.

“How on earth did you do this to me?” Pat Fitzgerald, the football coach at Northwestern, chuckled as he recalled the tale of attempting to retain his highly valued graduate assistant.

That was approximately a five-second plan.

Fitzgerald was Kafka’s main recruiter and later Northwestern’s head coach. Fitzgerald remained in contact with Kafka during his six-year NFL backup quarterback career. And it didn’t take him long to return to his alma mater after learning that Kafka was hanging up his spikes to seek a career as a coach.

Fitzgerald saw early on in Kafka’s first season as a coach that the coach would not be staying in Evanston, Illinois, for very long.

Kafka was a born teacher. He provided his quarterbacks with a cool, comforting viewpoint, easy relatability because of his closeness to his own playing days, curiosity, and natural inventiveness. He also brought his own lessons from dealing with injuries, vying for reps, and playing backup.

“After just a few days at Northwestern, I knew this is exactly what I want to do,” Kafka said. “After a few days, I told my wife that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life over the phone.”

Alli Kafka, who married Mike in 2014 after meeting him as a freshman at Northwestern, only hazily recalls that exchange. That’s only because she was aware of Mike’s level of passion for it before he did.

“I was prepared for the call,” Alli chuckled.

Fitzgerald wasn’t shocked when Mike Kafka received the call from Reid—the next significant call he would get.

The Wildcats coach knew his efforts would be in vain, but he also didn’t want to lose one of his most talented young coaches. It was the NFL on the phone. Kafka needed to respond.

“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” Kafka remembered Fitzgerald asking in jest.

“Yeah, yeah,” was Kafka’s response.

Reid had watched Kafka’s transition into coaching and didn’t wait long to find out if his former quarterback was prepared for his return to the NFL to work with his new star student, Patrick Mahomes. Reid had coached Kafka with the Eagles after he was picked by Philadelphia in 2010.

Kafka informed Reid, “I’ll be on the next flight.”

That day’s choice by Kafka launched his incredible ascent through the NFL coaching ranks. As offensive quality control coach for Kansas City, Kafka started working with Mahomes as soon as he arrived. With his guidance, the young star won a Super Bowl in his second season and an MVP award in his first. In the meantime, Kafka had taken over as the Chiefs’ quarterbacks coach, and he eventually added the position of passing game coordinator. His contributions in Kansas City started to garner notice.

As the 35-year-old Kafka was offered the chance to call plays as the offensive coordinator for the Giants this past offseason, he jumped at the chance. Kafka had always known there would be a ceiling in Kansas City with Reid calling plays.

They turned a Giants offense that finished 31st in the NFL in 2021 in terms of scoring and yardage into one that was known for its inventiveness and consistently exceeded expectations in their first season together. Last but not least, Kafka and Daboll contributed to the Giants’ first playoff victory in eleven years, which was largely made possible by an excellent offensive strategy against the Vikings that gave quarterback Daniel Jones the opportunity to put on a historic performance.

Even more impressively, despite injuries taking a toll on the offensive line and depriving the wide receiver position of some of its best talent, Kafka and company have developed a multifaceted, inventive, and productive attack that has left the Giants dependent on practice squad elevations and waiver wire acquisitions. They succeeded in making it function. Thus, it should come as no surprise that Kafka has had calls for around three head coaching positions after just one year in New York.

It comes as no surprise to those who have followed Kafka from the beginning that other NFL players have realized what they have long understood.

“We are all not surprised in the slightest by Mike’s success as a coach, whether we were here as student-athletes or worked with him here,” Fitzgerald remarked. “Yep, I could have told you that one,” is all that is said. That was an obvious choice. Thus, I find it unbelievable that he isn’t the head coach yet. I mean, that’s who I am. However, his time will come.