Former Backup QB Mike Kafka Could Haunt Eagles in New York
The Giants are expected to name former Eagles backup quarterback Mike Kafka as their new offensive coordinator under head coach Brain Daboll.
Daboll was hired last week as the Giants try to halt a host of bad-hiring decisions in recent years since moving on from two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Tom Coughlin.
The Giants' last three head coaches - Ben McAdoo, Pat Shurmur, and Joe Judge - have all lasted two seasons or less in the big chair with the NYG and amassed a dismal 33-64 record with five consecutive double-digit loss seasons.
Daboll is the former offensive coordinator in Buffalo, where he was credited with aiding the development of Josh Allen, one of the most exciting young quarterbacks in football.
Kafka, meanwhile, is regarded as one of the more exciting young coaches in the NFL at the tender age of 34 after smartly tethering himself to Andy Reid.
A former fourth-round pick out of Northwestern in 2010, Kafka saw limited playing time with the Eagles, completing 11-of-16 passes for 107 yards with two interceptions in four appearances during the 2011 season.
By 2012 he was out in place of rookie Nick Foles and veteran Trent Edwards as the backups to Michael Vick in what turned out to be Reid's final season in Philadelphia.
By 2013 Chip Kelly was coaching the Eagles and Reid started a second historic run with the Kansas City Chiefs while Kafka bounced around trying to find a foothold as an NFL backup, spending time with New England, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Cincinnati through 2015 before finally calling it quits and ultimately embarking on a coaching career at his alma mater
The arm talent just wasn't there for Kafka but his football IQ and ability to learn different offensive schemes were off the charts.
Kafka started out as a graduate assistant back in Evanston, Illinois under well-regarded Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald, his former college mentor, before Reid brought him back to the NFL as a Chiefs' quality-control coach.
From there Kafka slowly climbed the ladder in Kansas City to quarterbacks coach and then QB coach/passing-game coordinator over the past two seasons.
Since Kafka has been tutoring Patrick Mahomes on a daily basis, the Chiefs have made four consecutive AFC Championship Games and won Super Bowl LIV.
"I think he’s incredibly smart and really understands how to distribute route patterns across the field," a former Eagles' personnel executive told SI.com's Eagle Maven when discussing Kafka. "He’s the one putting Tyreek Hill on those deep overs into space and stretching out zone coverages to stress the defenders with concepts."
In recent years, Kafka has gotten a lot of interest in going elsewhere to be an offensive coordinator, including Philadelphia, but the rules allowed the Chiefs to block any lateral moves for coaches under contracts.
Last year there was even some interest by the Eagles to interview Kafka for the head-coaching job after Doug Pederson was hired but Kafka felt it was a little too early and begged off the process.
With the Giants, the perception is that Daboll would call plays as an offensive-minded head coach but the new NY coach has expressed some interest in going down the so-called CEO path.
Either way, Kafka is expected to have a large imprint on the Giants' offensive game plans and success with New York with Daniel Jones after so many down seasons would have Kafka on the fast track and on some very short lists en route to becoming a head coach.
"He’s obviously superb with the QBs," the personnel exec said. "You can’t have backups [Chad Henne] walking in and winning playoff games without his QB coach putting him in position to succeed.
"I think the world of him as a drop-back pass designer."
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
