We’ve said from the start that 2025 would be a transitional year for the New York Giants.
The hope would be that they were transitioning forward into a new era with a new Franchise Quarterback. And while that’s still true, the next chapter in the Giants’ story will also be written with a new head coach. Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka was named interim head coach, and in the process got the opportunity of a lifetime.
Kafka has interviewed for head coaching positions in each of the last three off-seasons, but just missed out on the job each time. Now he’ll have seven games to prove to Joe Schoen and the Giants’ brass that he’s the right man for the job.
Kafka’s head coaching debut came against the talented — but underperforming — Green Bay Packers. Kafka’s squad played with renewed energy and gave the Packers all that they could handle but came up just short. The Giants once again got a late lead on a team expected to beat them handily, which is impressive considering they were without Jaxson Dart, Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton, and Cam Skattebo.
Unfortunately, they also couldn’t hang on to the lead, which has been a depressingly common theme for the defense.
With all that in mind, we wanted to know what the Big Blue View community thought of Kafka’s coaching debut.
The overwhelming majority of Giants fans graded Kafka’s coaching debut a solid “B”. That’s probably a fair grade considering he was handicapped by injury and was able to keep up with a high-powered Packers’ offense — but also considering the defense’s continued struggles in finishing games and the fact that the Giants lost.
Kafka will get another similar test this week on the road against the Detroit Lions. The offense is getting Darius Slayton back, but will once again be without Jaxson Dart (concussion), Kayvon Thibodeaux (shoulder), and Paulson Adebo (knee). The Giants could also be without Deonte Banks (hip) after he didn’t practice on Friday.
The Giants over-performing in spite of injuries against teams like the Lions and Patriots could go a long way toward building Kafka’s resume to be the Giants’ next head coach. However, he’ll also need to get wins to show that he can build a winning culture and get the team moving in the right direction.
It is, perhaps, a positive sign for Kafka that most fans are now confident in the team’s direction.
Right now, 53% of Giants fans are confident in the future of the team, which is up from the 44% after Week 10 and double what it was after Week 9 (26%).
Fans aren’t yet brimming with confidence, but they do seem to believe that the Giants committing to a new head coach in 2026 (and beyond) is a big step in the right direction. And the fact that the team has remained competitive under Kafka is a positive development as well.
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