The first interview request is in for NY Giants OC Mike Kafka and we are worried
With five teams looking to hire new head coaches, you just knew that someone would try and ruin the fun for the NY Giants and take away from the incredible season this staff is having. Such was the case on Tuesday morning, with the Carolina Panthers officially putting in a request to interview offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. Crap.
While NY supporters were frustrated with Kafka’s play-calling at times throughout the season, there’s no denying he helped quarterback Daniel Jones take a big step forward in 2022. With the Panthers wanting to give him a long look as the potential Matt Rhule replacement, you’ve got to figure more teams might come calling too.
Panthers have requested an interview with Giants OC Mike Kafka for their head coaching position, per @TomPelissero.
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) January 10, 2023
That's the first known request for potential HC candidates on Brian Daboll's staff.
Carolina Panthers request permission to interview Giants OC Mike Kafka
Losing Kafka is one thing, but the timing of this news just sucks too. The Giants are in the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and fans are hopeful that the team can take down the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card Round. There’s a good chance Big Blue can get that job done and send Kirk Cousins and Co. packing.
However, with kickoff around the corner, no one wants this Kafka news and speculation to be a distraction. The young OC needs to keep his focus 100 percent on the Minnesota defense. There will be no excuses for Jones, Saquon Barkley and others to not have strong showings and it’s going to be on Kafka to make sure he can call the right plays for this offense.
In addition to the Panthers, Kafka has also been linked to other openings, including the Texans and Cardinals. The interview with Carolina may not be the only one on the way for him. Everyone in East Rutherford trusts Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen, who will surely bring in the right replacement for Kafka if he indeed bolts.
This is just something no one wanted to have their attention on right now. No one, especially Kafka, can let this impact their focus and attention on the task at hand: taking down the Vikings later this week.
