Mike Kafka’s spent most of the past two weeks deflecting any talk about his head coaching prospects, repeatedly saying his sole focus has been on the Giants’ playoff chances.
The former Northwestern quarterback, still only 35 years old, is the youngest candidate in the extensive group of interviews Indianapolis has conducted, Joel Erickson of the Indianapolis Star reports.
Kafka has also interviewed with the Texans and Panthers.
Kafka spent two of his five seasons in the NFL as a backup quarterback on Reid’s Eagles rosters, and the Chiefs coach plucked him away from a graduate assistant’s position at Northwestern after just one season to become an offensive quality control coach in Kansas City in 2017.
Kafka’s rise after that decision was swift.
Kansas City drafted Patrick Mahomes in 2017, and Kafka became the Chiefs quarterbacks coach as Mahomes ascended to the full-time starting role a year later and took the NFL by storm. The pair spent the next four seasons working together.
For a quarterback-needy team like the Colts, a team likely getting ready to draft and develop a first-round quarterback to be its franchise passer, Kafka’s experience with Mahomes is a good enough reason to bring the Giants offensive coordinator for an interview.
But Kafka’s season in New York is a different kind of experience, evidence that the young coordinator knows how to unlock the abilities of a quarterback who doesn’t have the otherworldly passing ability of Mahomes, the NFL’s best quarterback.
Working with Daboll, the Giants rebuilt their offense this season, tailoring it to the dual-threat abilities of Jones, and the young quarterback played some of his best football down the stretch, most notably in New York’s playoff win over the Giants.
“Coaching, playing, I think that it’s important to show your personality, and I think you have to be you whenever you’re trying to give a message,” Kafka said.
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