Going from interim head coach to not even getting back an offensive coordinator role can be tough for an NFL coach.
New Detroit Lions passing game coordinator Mike Kafka has learned the hard way how brutal this league can be after his seven-game interim head coach stint with the New York Giants last season, which included a thrilling overtime loss to the Lions in his second game.
But if anyone knows what Kafka is going through right now, it's his current head coach, Dan Campbell. Campbell served as interim head coach for the Miami Dolphins in 2015 before joining the New Orleans Saints as an assistant head coach and tight ends coach. In fact, Campbell was passed over by the Lions for their head coaching gig years before he was ultimately hired in 2021, unable to land an interview during their previous opening.
Campbell was asked about Kafka during his Wednesday presser, and he drew from his own experiences in his response, saying, "You got to humble yourself again a little bit, and that's a good thing."
For Campbell, he said it was "easy" for him to do that because he was working for Super Bowl-winning head coach Sean Payton in New Orleans, whom he had a "tremendous amount of respect for" and "knew that he could fill in those things for me that I needed help with."
Now, Campbell will pull a Kevin James and play the role of Payton, serving as the mentor for Kafka on his journey to become a head coach again.
Kafka a "great addition" to the Lions
Campbell praised Kafka for being a "thinker," "creative," and for listening to what he and/or offensive coordinator Drew Petzing want done. Petzing does pose an interesting dynamic with Kafka, as Kafka interviewed for the Lions' OC role before the job went to Petzing. Petzing has praised the Kafka hire and the added perspective he will bring to the offense.
That perspective is going to come into play, per Campbell, as he explained that both Kafka and passing game specialist David Shaw will handle "a lot of advanced scouting" and offer ways to apply that into the game plan, as Petzing won't "have all the time in the world to do that."
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In a follow-up question, Campbell was asked about how Kafka burned the Lions' defense with the long ball last season and if we should expect to see more of that in the Lions' offense. Campbell explained that the deep ball is "something we'd love to get better at," but it wasn't really a factor for Kafka's hiring. Campbell noted they have the talent to utilize the deep ball more; it's just a matter of putting the work in to establish it.
Sometimes that deep ball pass comes one play after a sack, illustrating a good metaphor for how football isn't a linear game. For Kafka to make his "deep ball pass" back to being a head coach, he'll have to make the most of this humbling experience and play his role with the Lions offense well.
He'll find no better inspiration for that than his own head coach.
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