Giants Slide One Spot in Latest MMQB Power Rankings Poll

As the New York Giants continue to rack up one heartbreaking loss after another, their spot in the weekly MMQB power ranking poll also continues to drift into the abyss.

This week, the 2-10 Giants are down one spot, from No. 27 to No. 28, after blowing yet another 10+ lead late in the game. Only the Jets, Saints, Titans, and Raiders, in that order, ranked worse than the Giants.

Unfortunately for rankings compiler Conor Orr, there’s not all that much more that can be said of a Giants team that seems to be on a rinse and repeat cycle with regards to how their games turn out.

But the veteran writer posed an interesting thought regarding the timing of defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s firing.

“While it could simply be an emotional reaction to another late-game collapse, this was not the first or second time something similar happened to the Giants…and those collapses were blamed on Brian Daboll,” Orr wrote.

“Is this a sign that the team wants Mike Kafka to go out and win this gig?

Let’s go ahead and shed some clarity on the timing question that Orr raised.

First, Bowen was not fired at the same time as Daboll, as Giants' management leaves assistant-coaching decisions to the head coach.

Therefore, they were not about to let Kafka, who is indeed auditioning to have the "interim" label removed from his title, go into his first week in his new role with a major hole on the coaching staff.

Second, Kafka himself said that he wanted to get a feel for how the defensive and special teams staffs went about devising game plans, something that he wasn’t previously privy to as assistant head coach/offensive coordinator.

Once Kafka got a feel for those processes, combined with what he was witnessing live and on film, he called it his decision to terminate Bowen after the defense blew its fifth 10+-point lead of the season.

Kafka, who aspires to be an NFL head coach, will have to make these kinds of decisions if he continues in the lead role beyond this year.

Not that they’re going to be easy.

“It's certainly tough decisions to make,” Kafka said on Monday after confirming reports of Bowen’s firing.

“My thoughts are with Shane and his family. I think you try to make decisions that are best for the football team. My thoughts are still with Shane. I have a lot of respect for him, for working with him, and for him and his family. I wish him the best in the future.”

If nothing else, Kafka’s showing the team that he’s not willing to stick with the status quo despite the season being lost is a feather in his cap. And as to whether he will be in the mix for the Giants when they officially launch their search for a permanent head coach, the answer is yes.

Further, it could probably be argued that Kafka has an advantage in that general manager Joe Schoen and team ownership know what they have in him.

That doesn’t mean that Kafka is a slam dunk for the job–the same argument can obviously be made for Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who is expected to be on the Giants' short list of head coaching candidates.

But it’s a factor that can’t be ignored and one that, if Kafka can somehow squeeze out a few wins over these last five games, will definitely increase any inside track he might have on the job.

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