Mike Kafka got his first taste of being a head coach last season when he replaced Brian Daboll on an interim basis with the New York Giants.
Kafka went 2-5 in seven games as coach, nearly led the Giants to a trick play-fueled upset of the Detroit Lions and closed the season with lopsided wins over the Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys that fueled his desire to sit in the big chair full time.
He interviewed for the permanent job with the Giants after the season, and when he was passed over for John Harbaugh, he came to Detroit in a supporting role that could be his springboard back to the head coaching ranks.
As the Lions’ new pass game coordinator, Kafka will have a big hand in one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses while learning from a coach in Dan Campbell who took a similar step back that turned out for the better a decade ago.
Campbell went 5-7 as Miami Dolphins interim coach in 2015, then joined the New Orleans Saints as assistant head coach after he was passed over for the top job in Miami. He spent five years apprenticing under Sean Payton and is a two-time Coach of the Year finalist in his five seasons with the Lions.
“That’s one thing we have in common,” Kafka said at Lions minicamp this week. “Certainly sharing some war stories about that experience. And it made me stronger, it made me better. I mean, I loved it. I loved every minute of it when I was there with players, with the coaches, [with] the ownership group, [general manager] Joe [Schoen]. Those were great experiences I’m going to carry with me for a long time.”
A former quarterback at Northwestern under current Michigan State coach Pat Fitzgerald who spent six NFL seasons with seven teams before diving into the coaching ranks, Kafka’s responsibilities in Detroit are many.
He’s worked closely with quarterback Jared Goff this offseason. He’ll play an advanced scouting role, along with pass game specialist David Shaw, when it comes to game-planning for certain teams in-season. And he’s a sounding board and idea generator for offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.
“He’s been a great addition for us,” Campbell said. “I know what that is, when you go from where he’s been, you were the interim head coach and then you’re kind of sliding back to a role with a new team. You’ve got to humble yourself again a little bit, and that’s a good thing.
“Like for me, it was easy because I came right back under Sean Payton, who I have a tremendous amount of respect for and knew that he could fill in those things for me that I needed help with. But he’s been unbelievable, man. He’s a thinker, he listens, he’s going to do exactly what Drew wants done, what I want done.”
Kafka, who was hired as pass game coordinator after first interviewing for the offensive coordinator job, shares an agent with Campbell and had a previous relationship with Petzing from their time together with the Minnesota Vikings in 2015, when Kafka was vying for a backup job behind current Lions backup Teddy Bridgewater and Petzing was a young offensive assistant.
He said he had “really good” conversations during the interview process with Campbell, Lions general manager Brad Holmes and senior football advisor to ownership Chris Spielman, including about the trick plays he called against the Lions last November.
Giants quarterback Jameis Winston threw a touchdown on a double pass and caught a touchdown from receiver Gunner Olszewski off an end around.
“We had a few trick plays up our sleeves that we knew in certain times that we kind of wanted to get to and call, and those guys made great plays,” Kafka said. “I mean, it wasn’t necessarily super clean, but those guys made a heck of a play out of it “
The Giants finished fifth in the NFL in rushing last season with Kafka calling plays – he was offensive coordinator before taking over as interim head coach – and despite starting rookies at quarterback (Jaxson Dart) and running back (Cam Skattebo) much of the year.
They also lost their best receiver (Malik Nabers) to a torn ACL early in the season but still were able to generate big plays in the passing game (nine of 40-plus yards, tied for fifth most in the NFL and one more than the Lions).
Campbell said he didn’t hire Kafka to re-energize the Lions’ deep passing attack, but no one will complain if that happens. And it just might help Kafka land the head coaching job he desires.
“If you aspire to be a coordinator, aspire to be a head coach, you aspire to continue to move up and help support your family and do things that you love,” Kafka said. “I have all those things. But right now, my focus is on my role with the Lions.”
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Can Mike Kafka energize Lions offense as he aims for head coaching gig?
Reporting by Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
