Why Giants' new coach Mike Kafka has chance to be Jaxson Dart's mentor

Staff Writer
Why Giants' new coach Mike Kafka has chance to be Jaxson Dart's mentor image

The New York Giants have handed the reins over, temporarily, to Mike Kafka.

They fired Brian Daboll on Monday. Kafka takes over as interim head coach, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

It's an important call, one that could define the next stages of Kafka's career because of how it ties in to rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.

Dart, the No. 25 overall pick in April, is the Giants' present and future. He's the face of the franchise, the franchise QB, the hope for all that is to come in New York's red and blue.

MORE: The Brian Daboll firing is all about Jaxson Dart

Kafka, at least for now, is the guy who will shepherd that.

He's never been a head coach, but he's been an offensive coordinator and also spent time on the offensive staff under Andy Reid with the Chiefs while working with Patrick Mahomes.

Kafka was a quarterback himself, first at Northwestern and then on a winding NFL journey. He may not have ever been a star, but he saw what greatness looks like.

With the Eagles, he backed up Michael Vick and Vince Young.

With the Patriots, he spent a bit of time with Tom Brady.

He worked under long-time veteran Josh McCown in Tampa Bay, then the experienced Teddy Bridgewater in Minnesota.

He watched Marcus Mariota in Tennessee and Andy Dalton in Cincinnati.

And then the time as a coach watching Mahomes must've been valuable.

MORE: Jaxson Dart's concussion trend points to a potential problem

Now, Kafka gets to watch over Dart. Everything the Giants do the rest of this season and into the offseason has to be about maximizing Dart's potential.

They've given him an experienced QB on the sideline in the head coach's headset to try and guide him. If Kafka does that job well, maybe he can stick around with Dart into the future.

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Staff Writer