On Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued a busy week of interviews regarding openings on their coaching staff, conducting a virtual meeting with New York Giants Interim Head Coach Mike Kafka.
Kafka is the fifth candidate the Buccaneers have interviewed for their OC position since last Friday, following previous virtual discussions with former Tennessee Head Coach Brian Callahan, Detroit Passing Game Coordinator David Shaw, Arizona Quarterbacks Coach Israel Woolfork and Atlanta Offensive Coordinator Zac Robinson. Those interviews began immediately after the team parted ways with Josh Grizzard on Thursday amid a round of changes to their coaching staff.
Kafka took over as the Giants' head coach in November after the team dismissed Brian Daboll from that position. Kafka was at the helm for the last seven games and the Giants finished the season with a pair of victories over the Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys, scoring 34 points in each of those contests. He had spent the previous two-and-a-half seasons as the offensive coordinator on Daboll's staff, adding assistant head coach to his title in 2024.
Kafka, who was also the Kansas City Chiefs' quarterbacks coach from 2018-21, aided in the development of Jaxson Dart, the Giants' rookie passer, in 2025. Dart started 12 games in his debut season and threw for 2,272 yards, 15 touchdowns, five interceptions and a 91.7 passer rating. Dart also ran for 487 yards and nine scores. The Giants finished the season ranked 13th in yards per game (333.5), fifth in rushing yards per game (129.1), 10th in first downs per game (20.4) and 13th in interception percentage (1.90%).
Kafka, who played quarterback at Northwestern and was chosen in the fourth round of the 2010 draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, began his NFL coaching career with the Chiefs in 2017. After one season as a quality control coach he was promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2018, coinciding with the installment of second-year passer Patrick Mahomes into the starting lineup. Mahomes won the NFL MVP award in 2018 and went to the Pro Bowl in each of Kafka's four seasons in that role.
