Who is Mike Kafka? Meet Giants interim head coach credited with developing Patrick Mahomes

Staff Writer
Who is Mike Kafka? Meet Giants interim head coach credited with developing Patrick Mahomes image

After five seasons littered with losses, the New York Giants finally have a new head coach.

The Giants dumped longtime boss Brian Daboll following New York's Week 10 collapse vs. The Chicago Bears. They have already found a man to fill his void on the sideline — at least on an interim basis.

Mike Kafka, New York's offensive coordinator and a member of the Andy Reid coaching tree, was named interim head coach. It's the latest upturn in a career timeline increasingly filled with them for Kafka, a former NFL quarterback who has interviewed for more than half a dozen head-coaching jobs in the past few years.

Here's what you need to know about the Giants' newest taskmaster, Mike Kafka.

MORE: Why did the Giants fire Brian Daboll?

Who is Giants interim coach?

The Giants promoted offensive coordinator Mike Kafka to the head coaching post, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo.

New York confirmed Kafka's appointment shortly after Rapoport and Garafolo's reporting broke.

Who is Mike Kafka?

Prior to his time as a coach, Kafka shined at Northwestern, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2009 while posting the eighth-most passing yards in program history upon graduation.

The Eagles selected Kafka in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played in four games with Philadelphia in 2011. In total, he spent four seasons swirling around the NFL landscape, turning out for the Patriots, Jaguars, Buccaneers, Vikings, Titans and Bengals' practice squads.

MORE: Best coaching candidates to replace Brian Daboll

Following his playing career, Kafka transitioned to coaching, joining the Wildcats as a graduate assistant before being hired by the Chiefs to serve as the team's offensive quality coach in 2017. Kafka has only gone from strength to strength in the years since, becoming Kansas City's quarterbacks coach in 2018. The Giants hired Kafka as their offensive coordinator in 2022.

Mika Kafka coaching career

Kafka started his coaching career in earnest in 2016, landing a gig with his alma mater, Northwestern, as a graduate assistant.

One year later, the Chiefs named Kafka their offensive quality control coach, reuniting him with his former coach, Reid.

Kafka was promoted to quarterbacks coach ahead of the 2018 season. Patrick Mahomes took home his first MVP in Kafka's maiden season. In five seasons in Kansas City, Kafka appeared in two Super Bowls and four AFC Championships, hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in 2020.

Mahomes spoke glowingly of Kafka ahead of Super Bowl 58, crediting his former coach with helping aid in his development.

"I spent a lot of hours with coach Kafka where he was teaching me the playbook and teaching me how to become a quarterback in the NFL. That continued for a long time," Mahomes said. "I knew when he left here, he was going to be a head coach somewhere soon."

The Giants took notice, hiring him to helm New York's attack as the team's offensive coordinator. In his first year in town, the Giants won 9 games, earning their first postseason berth in seven seasons.

Kafka has interviewed for a handful of head-coaching gigs in the years since his arrival in New York, including the Texans, Cardinals, Seahawks and Bears. He'll finally get a chance to do the real thing in the Big Apple, albeit on an interim basis.

Mike Kafka age

Kafka is 38 years old. He'll turn 39 on July 25, 2026.

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