The New York Giants are in the playoffs.
Yes, that’s a fact.
In Brian Daboll’s first season as head coach, the Giants finished with a 9-7-1 record and have a first-round matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.
It has been a fantastic turnaround in New York in Year One of the Daboll era, and Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley have been a huge part of the turnaround.
As such, Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka is garnering interest as a head coach elsewhere.
The #Panthers requested an interview with #Giants OC Mike Kafka for their head coaching job, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 10, 2023
Per Tom Pelissero, the Carolina Panthers are requesting an interview for Kafka.
After Carolina fired Matt Rhule in the middle of the season, Steve Wilks stepped in and finished with a 6-6 record as interim head coach and has been a rumored option for the permanent position.
However, Kafka is definitely an interesting option for Carolina, and his name could start to circulate more and more with five current NFL head coach openings.
The Giants offense finished 15th in the NFL in points per game (21.5) and fourth in rushing yards (148.2), as Barkley finished with 1,312 yards and 10 scores.
This was Kafka’s first year in New York, and prior to that, he was with Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs.
After spending one year as a graduate assistant for Northwestern, he joined the Chiefs staff in 2017 and emerged as a popular coordinator choice due to his success as QBs coach and passing game coordinator.
Now, Kafka is getting some head coach buzz, and if he leaves, Daboll and the Giants will have to find another offensive coordinator.
