One year ago, NY Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka was a sought out candidate for head coaching vacancies. After the Giants went 6-11 this campaign, though, it didn't seem like he'd be a hot choice this offseason. Well, guess again.
On Wednesday afternoon, news broke that the Tennessee Titans have requested permission from the Giants to interview the second-year offensive coordinator for their HC opening. The Titans recently fired Mike Vrabel and now Kafka has emerged as a candidate to replace him.
The #Titans requested an interview with #Giants OC Mike Kafka for their head coaching job, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 10, 2024
The Tennessee Titans will interview Mike Kafka for their head coach opening
The Titans dismissed Vrabel after six seasons as their head coach. Kafka is just one of several candidates that Tennessee is looking at, as they are also eyeing Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce. Pierce has been mentioned as a possible defensive coordinator candidate if he doesn’t land a head coaching job this offseason too.
A year ago, Kafka, coming off the Giants 9-7-1 season and a playoff victory over Minnesota, had four different teams interview him: the Cardinals, Texans, Colts and Panthers. Kafka was a finalist for the Cardinals head coaching job that ended up going to Jonathan Gannon, which led to him staying with the G-Men to run the offense again for a second season.
Unfortunately, the Giants offense had a massive setback in 2023, as they were near the bottom of the league in points scored. The Giants also had a ton of injuries to key players such as Daniel Jones, Andrew Thomas, Saquon Barkley and Darren Waller. All of these factors led to New York having a fall and winter to forget.
There were also word recently that Kafka could potentially want out from the Giants, as rumors swirled during the season that Brian Daboll was the one calling plays, not Kafka. However, everyone inside the Giants locker room said Kafka was the one calling the shots all along.
If Kafka were to depart this offseason, then Daboll would be challenged with having to replace all three of his coordinators, as Wink Martindale has left his position as defensive coordinator and Thomas McGaughey was dismissed as special teams coordinator. We should find out soon if Kafka will stay in town or not.