Joe Schoen Focused on Supporting Giants Interim Head Coach Mike Kafka

Schoen didn't want to answer many questions about his role in the current mess.

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

For anyone who thought that New York Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka is merely a placeholder until the next full-time coach is hired, that is not necessarily the case.

So said Giants general manager Joe Schoen, who spoke to the media for the first time since the first day of training camp. Schoen, who fielded about 20 minutes' worth of questions about the state of the team following its embarrassing collapse to the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football, said several times that his focus was on supporting Kafka in whatever he needed to have a chance to remove the "interim" label from his title.

“Mike's gonna get a real look. He's getting a real look right now, hands-on,” Schoen said. “Had very good communication with Mike throughout the process. You know, he's coached for three games, you know, two of them, we had leads in the fourth quarter, guys were ready to go. 

“And last night we, you know, we just, we didn't show up in all three phases unfortunately. But I have a good relationship with Mike. He's a good coach and a good leader. And you know, again, he's getting an opportunity over these next four weeks to continue to lead the team.”

New York Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka is trying to convince ownership to remove the "interim" label from his title. | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Kafka, who aspires to be a full-time NFL head coach, has the deck stacked against him, given the state of the roster, which, despite what Schoen said are some good core pieces, is banged up at key spots and is trying to break in a talented rookie quarterback.

Kafka is also operating with a broken coaching staff, as he decided to fire defensive coordinator Shane Bowen last week, naming outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen to the post despite Bullen’s lack of experience calling plays at any point in his 18-year career.

Besides all that, Kafka has been dealing with indiscretions by rookie outside linebacker Abdul Carter, who earned himself a second benching on Monday night for yet another indiscretion that Schoen tried to downplay as a mistake due to Carter’s age.

Kafka is also dealing with an ambitious and fearless quarterback in Jaxson Dart who insists he’s going to play his game without fear, even if it inadvertently puts him in harm’s way.

“We're going to do everything we can right now to support Kafka. That's our primary focus right now: to give Kafka everything he needs to succeed over these next four weeks, support him and his staff at the appropriate time,” Schoen said.

But that doesn’t mean that Schoen, whom ownership has tabbed to lead the search for the franchise’s next head coach, is going to rest on his laurels. Schoen believes that the young talent core, led by quarterback Justin Fields and receiver Malik Nabers, makes for an attractive offering for a new head coach.   

“We'll do a thorough collaborative research and come up with the best coach to lead the New York Giants going into the 2026 season,” he said.  

“I do believe there is a good young core to build around here, and it will be an attractive job for many coaches. I'm excited to get that process going, you know, as we move forward.”

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