New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka has the challenge, and opportunity, of a lifetime ahead of him.
As the Giants’ offensive coordinator, he will be instrumental in developing rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart. Dart has, thus far, looked every bit a future franchise quarterback. He’s made visible progress in practices and has been efficient, effective, and decisive in preseason games.
“I think Jaxson’s been really good with the opportunities he’s had in terms of the run game, the pass game, obviously
having some production down field,” Kafka said when asked about the rookie on Monday.
It might be a bit much to say that Dart has exceeded expectations, at least internally. His selection may have been viewed as a Hail Mary by outside observers, but the Giants spent considerable time with all the quarterbacks and they were excited to trade up and select Dart in particular. So far, he’s proven that their excitement is well-placed. Not only has Dart been a very productive rookie passer, he’s handled the moment well. Not just throwing the ball, but the facets of playing quarterback that don’t necessarily show up on the box score.
“I think he’s just really starting to put together some of the stuff on the offense in terms of just the plays, understanding what we’re trying to do on offense,” Kafka said. “He’s done a great job with the leadership part of that and making sure that guys are in the right spot.”
Outside of several… venerable veterans like Russell Wilson, Greg Van Roten, and Graham Gano, the Giants are a pretty young team. They’re relying on a number of rookies (including Dart) and second year players at important positions. So far, the traits we’ve only heard about — his ‘mental horsepower’ and personal magnetism — have shown themselves in practice and those preseason reps.
“He’s working with guys in that second, that third group that may be young players, other rookies along side of him, other veterans that have played a lot of football as well, so he’s doing a great job of kind of leading the group.” Kafka said. “Again, we talk about an 11-man operation, he’s leaning on those veterans, he’s leaning on some of the older guys in the room and on that offensive line that have done it and played well and then he’s taking it to the next level.”
Dart has done well enough that the questions of whether he was worth the 25th overall pick have died down, only to be replaced with questions of when he’ll take the starting job from Russell Wilson.
And Kafka does have experience on that front. He was the offensive quality control coach for the Kansas City Chiefs when Patrick Mahomes was drafted in 2017, and the team’s quarterbacks coach from 2018 until he became the Giants’ offensive coordinator in 2022.
Mahomes sat for most of his rookie year, only getting on the field in the final week of the season. That’s contrasted by Brian Daboll’s experience with Josh Allen, who started Week 1. Ultimately, Kafka is a believer in patience and flexibility in how they approach Dart’s development.
“Every quarterback is different,” he said. “You see guys that play Week 1 or are a Day 1 starter. Like Jayden Daniels, it was Day 1 he was the first guy in. But then other players have different trajectories and different stories.”
That was certainly the case with Mahomes and Allen, drafted just a year apart. Mahomes was able to sit behind Alex Smith (who was playing the best ball of his career at Kansas City), while the Bills had Nathan Peterman at quarterback — the situations weren’t exactly equal. Likewise, Mahomes set the league on fire when he became the starter in 2018, while it took Allen a couple years to fully harness his prodigious physical ability.
“I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way,” Kafka said. “I think you’ve got to understand the guy. I think you’ve got to understand where your team is at. I think you’ve got to understand how fast of a learner he is or where he’s at in his kind of the profile of the player and where the offense is and what you can do with the offense.”
That last part is important to keep in mind. While Dart’s development is crucial to the future of the franchise, he isn’t the only young player they need to develop. Having a steady veteran like Russell Wilson under center and leading the team helps create a stable foundation for players like Malik Nabers, Theo Johnson, Tyrone Tracy, and many others.
For months, the Giants have talked about having a plan for Dart’s development. They, obviously, wouldn’t share specifics on their timeline for his development, but they have goals and checkpoints for every stage. It’s possible that he’s ahead of the curve, but ultimately his development is his own, and it can’t be gauged against any other player.
“I think you just have to have a plan for what you want to do and then just kind of work through it from there and adjust along the way,” Kafka said. There’s no cookie-cutter way of doing it. Just be flexible with it. Try to work through each of those growth periods.”
“You get through the first part of getting them into rookie minicamp, right?” he added. “And you’re working through all right here’s the NFL game, here’s what it looks like, here’s what it sounds like. Then you get to the phases and OTAs and you get through training camp. Now you’re in the preseason. Now everything kind of amps up a little bit faster each level you go through. And that will happen the same way in the season.”
The opportunity for Kafka isn’t just to play a guiding hand in the next phase of the Giants’ franchise history. If the Giants are able to successfully develop Dart and return to offensive relevance, Kafka will likely take the next step in his career as a coach. He’s highly-regarded in league circles and has been receiving head coaching interviews since the 2023 offseason.
If Dart becomes what the Giants hope, Kafka is all but assured a chance to coach his own team. If so, he’ll have a good perspective as both a former quarterback and as a coach.
“I’m trying to think back, I’ve been under a couple (players turned coach) in my time at Northwestern, (former
Northwestern head coach and former linebacker Pat Fitzgerald) Coach Fitz being a former player, former Wildcat. And being with (Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy) Coach Reid, who has played college at a high level and obviously coached for a long time but didn’t necessarily play in the league.”
Like developing a quarterback, Kafka doesn’t think that there’s a right — or wrong — path to being a head coach.
“I’ve had both experiences in my time and I don’t think there’s one right way or the other, just different experiences,” he said. “Each coach kind of brings their own touch and feel to how they approach the game and I think reaching the players, getting them to understand the importance of certain things, whether it’s on the field, off the field, the fundamental part of it and just sharing your experiences. I think, for me, that’s been probably the coolest thing is being in those same seats with the guys, being in the locker room with the guys, being able to relate to the players and understanding what they’re going through.”
