Big Blue View
This Sunday Mike Kafka begins his seven-game audition to be seriously considered to become the next head coach of the New York Giants, without the “interim” designation. He won’t have to look far for possible competition. The Green Bay Packers will be the opponent, and Kafka will be matching wits against Packers’ defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, considered one of the hot new candidates for an NFL head coaching position.
This is not a post about who should become the next head coach of the New York Giants. Ed has discussed 16 different candidates for the job at this point. I hope Kafka does a great job in the next seven games, so much so that the Giants just decide to bring him back as permanent rather than interim head coach. That may or may not happen, and it’s not worth discussing right now. Instead, this is a post about whether the Giants head coaching job is an attractive one, and for what type of coach. There are four factors to consider for any coaching candidate:
I’m a native New Yorker. It has always felt like home to me, even (especially) when I lived in California for a few years. I can’t imagine living in any other part of the country now. Many of you who are “local” may feel the same way.
New York has its pros and cons, though, and whether you see the pro or the con more depends on a lot of things. First, how weird is it still after all these years that my team actually plays in New Jersey rather than New York? For a head coaching candidate, that’s probably not of much importance. What may be of importance, though, are the high costs, the eternal choking traffic, the vulturous press, the sometimes frigid winter weather, the stadium that looks like an air conditioner and has no soul, and the artificial turf field that (reports of its safety to the contrary) is anathema to many NFL players. Some head coaching candidates – especially those prominent enough to call their shot – may not want to come to this area and may not want the scrutiny that they’ll surely get here. We’re not in Jacksonville anymore, Toto.
The flip side of that issue is that if you succeed in New York as a Giants head coach, you’re a legend and you’re set for life. There’s also the question of the competitiveness of people in sports. A coach with enough confidence (and ego) may see this downtrodden franchise as the ultimate challenge to meet, the highest mountain to scale.
Pro Football Sports Network ranked all 32 NFL ownership groups last year. The Giants came in No. 26. The reasons given were the run of failed head coaches, and the disastrous 2024 Hard Knocks. Not that those aren’t issues about the franchise, but if you want to be the head coach of the team you’re not going to say to yourself, “I shouldn’t go...
