An upset of Patriots is Mike Kafka’s last, best hope to earn Giants’ coaching job for 2026
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Mike Kafka’s opportunity for a signature moment as New York Giants interim coach arrived in last Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions.
A two-touchdown underdog in his second game since replacing Brian Daboll, Kafka had his team at Detroit’s 6-yard line with three minutes remaining. Leading by three points, Kafka could have played it safe on fourth-and-goal, kicked a field goal to take a six-point edge and then hoped his porous defense would prevent the Lions from driving for a go-ahead touchdown.
But Kafka didn’t want to leave any doubt. Aiming to take a two-score lead that would have sealed the victory, he went for a touchdown. Quarterback Jameis Winston’s pass to tight end Theo Johnson fell incomplete, however, and the Lions drove for a field goal to send the game to overtime. The Lions then scored on the first play of the extra session and held on for a 34-27 win.
Kafka’s failed gamble sparked criticism from all corners. President Donald Trump called bypassing the field goal “crazy” and “weird.” Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers was so appalled by Kafka’s lack of “football common sense” that the injured star questioned, on a since-deleted post on social media, if the Giants were trying to lose on purpose.
Kafka’s conviction in his decision hasn’t wavered.
“All I know is that I really like the call,” Kafka said days later. “I stand by it. I don’t have any regrets about it. I thought we were aggressive to try to go win the game.”
That aggressive mindset has been Kafka’s calling card in two games since taking over for Daboll, who was fired after a 2-8 start to his fourth season.
“I’m going to try to do what’s best for the team,” Kafka said. “Whether it’s winning the game on the last play of the game, being aggressive, going for two if we get an opportunity — whatever that situation is, that’s where we got to thrive, and that’s where we got to turn the table in terms of our team is when it’s (crunch) time, when it’s time down at the end of the game, when we got to make a play, we’re going to be aggressive to go make the play to win it.”
The problem for Kafka is the new mindset hasn’t changed the results. The Giants have squandered fourth-quarter leads in each of Kafka’s two games, including a 10-point advantage over the Lions in the fourth quarter.
With five games remaining, Monday’s matchup with the 10-2 Patriots on a national stage is Kafka’s last opportunity to score the type of meaningful win that could convince ownership the best long-term option is already in the building.
The Giants have a bye next week and then play four teams with a combined 15-32-1 record to close the season. A few wins over similarly downtrodden franchises down the stretch won’t figure to move the needle.
Kafka is a legitimate head-coaching candidate, interviewing for openings with eight teams over the past three offseasons. But the deck is stacked against him to secure the full-time job with the Giants.
Kafka arrived in New York with Daboll in 2022, serving as the play-caller off-and-on during some lean offensive seasons. It would be tough to sell the fan base on retaining general manager Joe Schoen and a coach who has been in a prominent role during this miserable four-year stretch.
There’s always an uphill climb for an interim coach because, by nature of the assignment, the season is already underway and not going well. Kafka surely had a vision for how he’d overhaul a program when he interviewed for head-coaching vacancies with a quarter of the league over the past three years. But only so much can be adjusted when taking over midstream.
Kafka’s plate has been full, firing defensive coordinator Shane Bowen after the collapse against the Lions. Kafka tabbed outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen, who has never called plays at any level, to replace Bowen.
Increased responsibilities have accompanied the new role, with Kafka benching first-round pick Abdul Carter for a series after the rookie missed a walk-through before Kafka’s first game as head coach. But when Kafka bizarrely claimed he hadn’t seen Nabers’ critical tweet, it didn’t give the impression he’ll rule with an iron fist.
There have been 49 in-season head coaching firings since 2000, not including Daboll and Tennessee’s Brian Callahan this year. The interim coach has been hired as the full-time coach in 11 of those instances.
Here’s a review of how those 11 coaches fared in their interim season and after becoming the full-time head coach:
CoachTeamInterim seasonFull-time seasons
Dick LeBeau
Bengals
4-9
8-24
Dave McGinnis
Cardinals
1-8
16-32
Mike Tice
Vikings
0-1
32-32
Tom Cable
Raiders
4-8
13-19
Mike Singletary
49ers
5-4
13-18
Jason Garrett
Cowboys
5-3
80-64
Leslie Frazier
Vikings
3-3
18-29-1
Romeo Crennel
Chiefs
2-1
2-14
Mike Mularkey
Titans
2-7
18-14
Doug Marrone
Jaguars
1-1
22-42
Antonio Pierce
Raiders
5-4
4-13
Although a lack of playoff success dimmed Garrett’s tenure in Dallas, he’s the only interim coach in the last 25 years to have a sustained run of success after getting hired full-time. Mularkey produced 9-7 records in each of his two full seasons with the Titans and won a playoff game in his second season, but the sides mutually parted ways after two years. Marrone went 10-6 and reached the AFC Championship Game in his first full season with the Jaguars, but the rest of his tenure was abysmal. Tice was .500 or better in three of his four seasons with the Vikings, but his contract wasn’t renewed by new owner Zygi Wilf after missing the playoffs with a 9-7 record in 2005.
Hiring an interim as the permanent head coach has become more rare in recent years. Of the 19 in-season firings since 2017, only former Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce got a full-time appointment. Pierce took over the Raiders in 2024 after going 5-4 as an interim in place of Josh McDaniels during the 2023 season. Pierce was fired after going 4-13 in his lone season as the full-time coach.
Kafka is the Giants’ second interim coach in the past nine seasons. The Giants didn’t hire Steve Spagnuolo, who had a four-game interim stint after replacing Ben McAdoo during the 2017 season.
That’s the history Kafka carries into the final five games of this season. If he plans to make ownership seriously consider him as the permanent coach, a win on Monday night could go a long way to changing perception.
