Sometimes a divorce is best for all sides, and the breakup between Mike Kafka and the New York Giants is proving that. While the Giants are right in the thick of the John Harbaugh sweepstakes, Kafka is becoming a hot commodity, and the offensive coordinator market has several openings to fill.
The ex-interim head coach ran a stable offense in New York across the last few seasons and has aided the development of Jaxson Dart, which is a solid OC track record. And that's why it's hardly surprising that he has interviews lined up with the Detroit Lions and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
#Giants interim coach and OC Mike Kafka is set to interview with the #Bucs tomorrow and the #Lions on Wednesday for their open OC jobs, sources say. pic.twitter.com/jH5iF5GWTL
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 13, 2026
In addition to calling plays, Kafka also served as the interim head coach after Brian Daboll got fired, which was rough. He managed to keep the locker room united after Daboll's firing, but with the Giants staring down the barrel of another top-five pick, their new head coach needs a complete staff reset.
Mike Kafka is setting himself up for an impressive post-Giants future
Something worth noting is that before landing in New York, Kafka was one of the fastest-rising assistant coaches on Andy Reid's staff in Kansas City. If Matt Nagy is (somehow) able to land another head coaching job, he would be on the short list to call plays for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
Instead, though, he's talking to two other teams with high-octane offenses. After firing Josh Grizzard, the Bucs are looking for their fifth OC in as many seasons, which is a great spot for Kafka. He wasn't equipped with much talent coaching Big Blue, but that wouldn't be a problem in Tampa Bay or Detroit.
Baker Mayfield had a down year in 2025, but he remains one of the best signal-callers in football. RB1 Bucky Irving has a bright future, and a receiving core of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan, and Emeka Egbuka is one of the most dangerous supporting casts in the NFL, so he can get creative.
In Detroit, the weapons are just as good. Jared Goff has Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Sam LaPorta at his disposal. However, they still missed the playoffs because the play-calling took a massive step back after former OC Ben Johnson left for Chicago.
Something else worth noting is that Dave Canales and Liam Coen parlayed OC opportunities in Tampa into head coaching gigs. At the same time, Johnson did the same with the Lions, so he could follow that lineage if he manages to land either of these jobs.
He's already been considered for multiple head coaching positions at this stage of his career, so it's not like a step forward like this would be incredibly out of the ordinary.