The New York Giants have an interesting Mike Kafka situation brewing. On one hand, the 39-year-old is interviewing for the Giants’ open head coaching gig. On the other hand, he’s still their pseudo-offensive coordinator, meaning if he goes, the G-Men will essentially have two open roles to fill.
If we're being honest, if Big Blue hired someone other than Kaf as its new HC, it'd be hard to see him go back to his coordinator role in East Rutherford.
Related: Jaxson Dart just made one thing painfully clear for the Giants’ next coach
That would be a real headache for general manager Joe Schoen. You know, seeing as though most of his decisions seem to blow up in his face. However, the football gods may have just bailed him out big time.
And it looks like Kafka the OC could be long gone after the latest bombshell coming out of the Nation's capital. As reported by NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, former Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury is officially on the market after being fired on Tuesday, and New York shouldn’t hesitate to make a move.
Giants should hire former Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury to replace Mike Kafka
Kingsbury’s role in East Rutherford wouldn’t need to be complicated. He was once mentioned as a candidate for the head coaching vacancy, but keeping him focused as OC feels like a better use of his skill set.
Things went sideways when he had full control with the Arizona Cardinals, but give him a quarterback to develop and all the offensive control, and Big Blue could have something special here.
The 46-year-old has built his career on the backs of mobile QBs, helping Kyler Murray win Offensive Rookie of the Year in Arizona and doing the same with Jayden Daniels in Washington.
And while his scheme isn’t without flaws -- ask Cardinals or Commanders fans about the protection issues and week-to-week inconsistency -- it’s designed to spread the field, push the pace, and play to a quarterback’s athletic strengths.
That’s literally exactly what fans should want for someone like Big Blue QB Jaxson Dart.
Not only would Kingsbury's offensive acumen and experience developing young quarterbacks help Dart and the Giants, but the inside info he’s picked up on Daniels over the last two seasons could be a sneaky nice bonus for the two times a year they face off.
After a strong 2024 and disappointing 2025 in Washington, the recently fired OC will have every reason to want to get back on that horse and prove the Commies wrong for letting him go. After all, it't not exactly his fault he couldn't win with journeyman Marcus Mariota under center.
If the Giants move on from Kafka, whether he dips somewhere else or just gets passed over by another candidate, they can’t afford to leave their 22-year-old franchise quarterback hanging, especially if the G-Men pivot toward a defensive-minded head coach like Chris Shula, Vance Joseph, or Jeff Hafley. That would make Kingsbury an even cleaner fit as the de facto ruler of the offense.
Let’s hope Schoen embraces his wild side and dives headfirst into Kliff jumping.