As Detroit wrapped up its minicamp, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said new pass game coordinator Mike Kafka has fit right in.
“First of all, he’s been a great addition for us,” Campbell said of Kafka.
Campbell noted that he and Kafka’s paths could be starting to mirror one another. In 2015, Campbell went 5-7 as Miami Dolphins interim head coach. Following the 2015 season, Campbell interviewed for the Dolphins’ full-time head coaching job, but Miami hired Adam Gase instead.
Kafka spent the past four seasons as the New York Giants’ offensive coordinator. The 38-year-old also served as the Giants’ interim head coach last season after Brian Daboll was fired.
The Giants lost their first five games with Kafka as its interim head coach, but four of those losses came by one score, including a 34-27 overtime loss at Detroit. Kafka’s creativity was on display in that Week 12 contest from Ford Field as he and the Giants burnt Detroit on a pair of trick plays.
Kafka finished his interim stint with a 2-5 mark as the Giants rolled the Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys in the season’s final two weeks. When the season ended, Kafka interviewed for the Giants’ full-time head coaching vacancy, but he was passed up for John Harbaugh.
“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,” Campbell said.
Kafka interviewed with the Lions for its offensive coordinator opening, but Campbell opted for former Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. The Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers both interviewed Kafka for their OC openings, too.
But, when the Eagles hired Sean Mannion and the Bucs hired Zac Robinson, that meant the Lions had another opportunity to add Kafka to its staff.
“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. He’s good with the players. And then a lot of it he’s just finding his way, too. You’re kind of the new guy, so you’re trying to get a feel of the other coaches around you, which is growing and developing. He fits right in. And then with the players, too. With Goff,” Campbell said.
Alongside pass game specialist David Shaw, Kafka will play a critical role in the Lions’ advanced scouting for upcoming opponents.
“He and David Shaw are both in a lot of advanced scouting. Division opponents, what’s coming next down the road in two, three weeks. And then give us your ideas. It’s not so much, okay, this is what we’re good at, but how do we dress this up? How do we maximize the things we do well and it gives us some leverage or it gives us a matchup we want.
“That’s what a lot of that is, because the coordinator doesn’t have all the time in the world to do that, so he needs those ideas and then he can pull from them. He’ll have his own thoughts. It’s critical, man. I do think he’s creative. I think David Shaw’s creative, too. That’s where those two guys really help out, but he’s been a really good addition to this point,” Campbell said.
Kafka hopes this opportunity with the Lions can help chart a similar trajectory for his career like Campbell’s stint with the Saints alongside Payton did for Campbell’s.
“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.”
And Kafka is fired up to work with Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
“Being in the room with Jared, he’s phenomenal,” Kafka said. “He’s one of those guys who I had a ton of respect for from the outside. You look at him, this guy is like a sniper. He’s into it, he’s got great command in the huddle, at the line of scrimmage. He’s so accurate. I didn’t really realize how accurate he was until being out here and seeing the anticipation, the velocity, the timing, the ball placement, all those things that go into the pass game. Watching him operate has been really impressive.”
Kafka played quarterback at Northwestern under current Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald. Kafka was drafted in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Eagles and spent six NFL seasons with seven teams before jumping into coaching.
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Lions’ Mike Kafka could be mirroring Dan Campbell’s coaching path
Reporting by Josh Helmer, Lions Wire / Lions Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Josh Helmer, Lions Wire | USA TODAY Network
