The Detroit Lions will interview former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel on Tuesday. Shortly thereafter, they’re interviewing another new candidate. Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, former Giants offensive coordinator turned interim head coach Mike Kafka will interview for the Lions offensive coordinator position on Wednesday.
Kafka has had a pretty quick rise through the ranks after starting in the NFL as an offensive quality control coach for the Kansas City Chiefs under Andy Reid in 2017. He quickly was promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2018-19, working with Patrick Mahomes. He was promoted again in Kansas City, adding pass game coordinator to his title for 2020-21 before he finally got his opportunity to run his own offense with the New York Giants from 2022-25. While the Giants never produced a top-10 offense in that time, Kafka has built some strong running games in a couple of seasons, and New York found some success with rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart this year before he suffered from several injuries.
Lions fans may remember Kafka best from the Lions vs. Giants game in November. In that game, the Giants, with Jameis Winston at quarterback, nearly pulled off a huge upset after putting up 517 yards of offense against Detroit. Kafka utilized a few successful trick plays, that day, as well.
Prior to his coaching career, Kafka spent six seasons in the NFL as a quarterback out of Northwestern.
Kafka is now the fourth known candidate for the Lions offensive coordinator job, joining McDaniel, Jake Peetz, and Tee Martin. Prior to his interview with Detroit, Kafka will reportedly interview for the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator position on Tuesday.
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