Sportsnaut
For the fifth season in a row, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking to hire a new offensive coordinator. Unlike last year, when Liam Coen left to take the Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coaching job, the Buccaneers fired their offensive playcaller. With Josh Grizzard lasting just one year in his position, it’s time for Tampa Bay to find another coach who can help lead the Bucs back to the playoffs.
Tampa Bay has been busy, lining up interviews with several candidates to be their offensive coordinator. On Tuesday, they completed another interview, this time with a former NFL quarterback.
According to the Buccaneers, Tampa Bay conducted a virtual interview with former New York Giants offensive coordinator/interim head coach Mike Kafka.
Kafka’s NFL journey began as the 122nd overall pick in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. Though he spent time with seven different teams across five seasons, Kafka only ever appeared in four games. He’d complete 11-of-16 passes for 107 yards and two interceptions with the Eagles in 2011.
Once he wrapped up his playing career in 2015, Kafka became a graduate assistant at Northwestern in 2016. He then worked his Andy Reid connection from his playing days in Philadelphia to land on the coaching staff of the Kansas City Chiefs as an offensive quality control coach in 2017.
The Chiefs promoted him to QB coach in 2018. In 2020, he earned the title of passing game coordinator in addition to his QB coach duties. By 2022, Kafka caught on with Brian Daboll’s New York Giants as the offensive coordinator in 2022.
Adding the title of assistant head coach in 2024, once Daboll was relieved of his duties in Week 10, Kafka took over the head coaching job with the Giants on an interim basis. He’d proceed to lead them to a 2-5 record to close out the season, and is now looking for a new job again.
He’s the fifth candidate to interview for the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator position. So far, they’ve spoken with former Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan, Detroit Lions passing game coordinator David Shaw, Arizona Cardinals QB coach Israel Woolfork, and Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.
Related: Fired NFL Head Coach Could Sign TV Deal This Offseason
More must-reads:
