Kafka reportedly interested in bringing controversial former Giants defensive coordinator with him
If New York Giants offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Mike Kafka is hired as head coach by the New Orleans Saints, he could add a delicious twist to the Giants’ 2025 season.
Per Jordan Ranaan of ESPN, Kafka intends to hire former Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale for that job with the Saints should he have the opportunity. Martindale, of course, left the Giants under acrimonious circumstances following the 2023 season.
The Giants face the Saints in New Orleans next season, setting up yet another potentially embarrassing scenario for Giants head coach Brian Daboll.
Kafka called offensive plays for the Giants when the made the playoffs in 2022, Daboll’s first season as head coach. Martindale was, of course, the mastermind behind the team’s ultra-aggressive defense.
After a miserable 2023 season, things changed for both coordinators.
Daboll stripped Kafka of play-calling duties, with the organization adding the largely ceremonial title of assistant head coach to Kafka’s resume. Martindale found himself running the defense at Michigan after his relationship with Daboll fractured.
The Giants have spent the 2024 season dealing with the embarrassment of watching Saquon Barkley have a historic season with the Philadelphia Eagles, who now have a chance to further the Giants’ misery by winning the Super Bowl.
What if Kafka, after being pushed into the background, and Martindale, after being pushed out the door, by Daboll combine forces in New Orleans and are successful? What if, with that duo in charge, the Saints beat Daboll’s Giants next season?
More embarrassment for the Giants.
Of course, Kafka has to get the New Orleans job first and that is no certainty. The Saints are expected to hold a second interview on Monday with Eagles’ offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. While Kafka has had two interviews and the Saints are enamored with him, head-coaching jobs usually go to assistants from successful teams.
The Eagles, obviously, have been just a bit more successful than the Giants this season.
Still, the possibility of a Kafa/Martindale duo in New Orleans would certainly be fascinating.
