By Ross Jackson
MOBILE, Ala. — While the Reese’s Senior Bowl is known for showcasing top collegiate talent ahead of the NFL Draft, it also serves as an opportunity to catch up on the latest developments around the league. One of the biggest offseason stories still hovers over the city of New Orleans as the New Orleans Saints are the last possible landing spot for a potential head coach.
One of the team’s top candidates is in Mobile, Ala. coaching with the Senior Bowl, New York Giants offensive coordinator and assistant head coach Mike Kafka.
Between his Senior Bowl practices, he was gracious enough to grant an exclusive one-on-one conversation with LouisianaSports.Net, wherein he discussed his approach to coaching, offensive scheme, culture-building and more.
He began with the league-wide conversation at large, the chance to land a head coaching spot in New Orleans.
Following the National Team’s first practice, Kafka complimented the Saints’ organization.
“I certainly spent a lot of time studying, number one, the roster, the staff, the history of the organization, the ownership group,” he said amidst a media scrum. “There’s a lot of things to like about that organization. If that opportunity presents itself, you’ll be lucky to get that job.”
In our one-on-one conversation, he went more in-depth about the potential of landing a head coaching job.
“(Being a head coach is) certainly a thing I aspire to be,” he said. “I want to be a head football coach, but it has to be the right organization, has to be the right fit. I’ve been on a number of these interviews already, and some are a great fit, and some aren’t. So I think those kinds of decisions are out of my control. I try to just present myself in the best light possible, be as honest as possible about my planning and what I would do. And then given an opportunity – go out and execute that.”
Kafka’s meteoric rise from Northwestern University graduate assistant to Kansas City Chiefs quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator took just four NFL seasons as he skyrocketed alongside former Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. Now, after three seasons with the Giants, he has a shot with the Saints to live his goal of becoming a head coach.
In doing so, his offensive prowess would lead the way in terms of on-field effect. When discussing his approach on that side of the ball, Kafka describes it as “surgical.” It’s an offense based on precision and attention to detail.
His best season as an offensive playcaller came in 2022 when he paved the way for quarterback Daniel Jones’s most productive season in the pros. Jones completed 67.2% of his passes that year, his career best in seasons in which he appeared in more than six games.
But as a head coach, Kafka’s thumbprints would expand beyond just one side of the football. He would be trusted to lead an entire organization, requiring a more holistic approach. Kafka feels comfortable attacking both sides of the ball thanks to his experience as an assistant head coach.
“You’re able to be in certain meetings that you probably weren’t as a coordinator,” he said when asked about the preparation he received as an assistant head coach. “Whether it’s interviews, whether it’s staff daily checkups with some of our doctors or strength and conditioning. (The) conversations that you didn’t really hear before as a coordinator or position coach, you’re now in those conversations.”
One of the big picture items Kafka would be in charge of would be finding the right defense that supports and complements his meticulous offensive approach. To that, the head coach candidate said that one quality he would look for is a “rage mentality.”
“I think it’s a mentality; a rage mentality,” he said. “I think that’s what you got to have on defense. Whether it’s by scheme, whether it’s by personnel, whether it’s just by your mentality, I think that’s how you want your defense thinking. Angry. Those are the best defenses I’ve had to play. The ones that are just like, ‘Man, these guys aren’t going to stop.’”
His description sounds an awful lot like the defense that was fielded in New York recently under former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale. A report by ESPN Giants reporter Jordan Raanan, who shared that Martindale could very well be on his way to New Orleans to assume the defensive coordinator position if Kafka is hired.
Part of his more expansive responsibilities would also include instilling and maintaining a team culture. For Kafka, “culture” is more than just an idea.
“It’s not one word or a phrase, it’s a mentality,” he said. “And it encompasses all the things that I believe on offense, defense, special teams, and just really the way I go about my business. I think when you think of a culture, it’s really the personality of your head coach. If you want a tough, smart, team-first team, then that’s what you look for in your coaches and your head coach.”
Kafka could be the Saints’ next head coach and thereby earn a chance to implement the ideas, nuance and culture that he wants. His evaluation of the opportunity is positive and NFL circles have a lot of high praise for the offensive mind. Kafka is clearly ready for his opportunity, but when it will come hangs in the balance of the Saints’ lingering decision.
Hear more about Kafka’s offensive approach, Senior Bowl experience and trajectory in the NFL Tuesday morning on 104.5 ESPN Baton Rouge’s Off the Bench from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. CT.
