Mike Kafka gets chance to call plays with Giants

It’s predominantly known as a good thing that the Kansas City Chiefs have so much coaching experience on the sidelines these days. But for those up-and-coming faces who are ready for their next challenge, just like Mike Kafka, it does prevent a bit of a logjam.

Kafka served as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for the Chiefs over the last five seasons, beginning in 2017. He quickly began to hear his name included on lists of assistants who were highly regarded in league circles, and it seemed like the Chiefs had a future head coach in waiting. The only problem, at the time, was that the Chiefs had no place to promote him.

The New York Giants decided to change their leadership once again this last offseason and new head coach Brian Daboll knew the Chiefs had an overly crowded pipeline which meant Kafka could be had. He invited him to be his new offensive coordinator and Kafka accepted. Now Kafka has learned he’ll be calling plays to start the season.

Former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Mike Kafka had to leave for a new opportunity but he’s calling plays for the New York Giants.

The news that Kafka will be one of 32 persons calling offensive plays in the NFL this season is a nice step forward for a guy who has only been a positional coach until now. The Chiefs would certainly have loved to keep him around, but there was simply no place for him. If Kafka looks impressive in his calls on the Giants sidelines, it could mean even better things to come for him in short order.

Looking back, however, the Chiefs had no choice. Andy Reid is a living legend, a future Hall of Fame head coach who is adding achievements with each passing season. Eric Bieniemy has been criminally overlooked as a future head coach who is back as offensive coordinator for another season. Steve Spagnuolo has been a head coach before as the team’s defensive coordinator and Matt Nagy, who was head coach of the Chicago Bears for the last few years, is back in K.C. to rebound from his experience in the Windy City.

In short, the Chiefs have a head coach who will be allowed (and encouraged) to stay as long as he wants with two previous head coaches on staff, one on each side of the ball, with a head coach in waiting stuck at the coordinator level until someone finally steps up to hire him. That’s a lot of qualified leadership, especially on the offensive side of the ball, and Kafka certainly knew how hard it would be for him to move up without a strong commitment from the organization that would have to upset someone else.