After generating interest as a potential head coach for the second consecutive offseason, Mike Kafka was promoted by the New York Giants and head coach Brian Daboll.
Kafka was given the title of assistant head coach to go along with his duties as offensive coordinator.
The reason for that promotion is open to interpretation. There had been rumors that Kafka was willing to move laterally to escape East Rutherford and the resume boost helped prevent that. However, he and Daboll publicly denied that.
Still, there is a lot of uncertainty about Kafka’s role and whether or not he’ll call offensive plays in 2024. Daboll has suggested he may take on that task himself.
So, what are Kafka’s expanded responsibilities, exactly? Even he can’t define them specifically.
“Right now, there’s not a bunch of expectations,” Kafka told NFL Network’s Judy Battista. “I’m just trying to learn from Dabs as much as I can, be around him, be a sponge, and do whatever tasks he wants to give me and whatever tasks we want to grow with. That’s what I’ll do.”
As it relates to being an assistant head coach, Kafka did gain some additional experience this offseason that should help him moving forward.
“It’s continuing to grow daily,” he said. “I think initially, it was being involved in some of the interview process — we hired some support staff. Dabs has done a great job of including me and allowing me to be a part of it, listen, and learn how those things work. So, that’s one example, and I know things will start to grow as we go through the offseason and this season.”
Regardless of how the 2024 regular season plays out — and whether or not he resumes play-calling duties — Kafka is expected to be a hot name during the next round of coaching hires in 2025.
