 Kafka with Northwestern in 2009 | |||||||||||||
| New York Giants | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Assistant head coach / offensive coordinator | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | July 25, 1987 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | St. Rita (Chicago) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Northwestern (2005–2009) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2010 / round: 4 / pick: 122 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| As a player: | |||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| As a coach: | |||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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| Record at Pro Football Reference | |||||||||||||
Michael John Kafka (born July 25, 1987) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). After attending St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago, Illinois, he played college football for the Northwestern Wildcats, receiving second-team All-Big Ten Conference honors as a senior.[1] He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft, and spent six seasons in the NFL as a journeyman quarterback. Kafka became the quarterbacks coach for the Chiefs in 2018, and Patrick Mahomes, the starting quarterback for the Chiefs, earned the NFL Most Valuable Player award that season. Kafka helped the team win Super Bowl LIV the following season.
Despite being the backup quarterback in 2008 for Northwestern, Kafka finished second on the team in rushing yards with 321. Following C. J. Bachér's graduation, Kafka became the starter for 2009. Against Syracuse, he set the school record for most consecutive pass completions with 16. In the same game, he became the first Big Ten Conference player to score a passing, receiving, and rushing touchdown since Zack Mills from Penn State in 2004. He was named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.[2] In the 2010 Outback Bowl against Auburn, Kafka set the all-time bowl record with 47 completions and 78 passing attempts. He set Northwestern and Outback Bowl records with 532 passing yards and an Outback Bowl record with five interceptions.[3]
Kafka spent two seasons as a member of the Eagles. In 2010, he was the third-string quarterback behind Michael Vick and Kevin Kolb but did not see playing time. He was mainly the third-string quarterback again in 2011 behind Vick and Vince Young, but saw some playing time in two games early in the season, both of which resulted in losses. He was expected to be the backup quarterback behind Vick in 2012 but a broken hand caused him to miss time in the preseason and was ultimately released in favor of rookie Nick Foles and veteran Trent Edwards. Kafka spent time on offseason rosters with the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars in 2013, on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice squad in 2014, on the preseason roster with the Minnesota Vikings in 2015, and on the practice squad for the Tennessee Titans and Cincinnati Bengals in 2015.
Kafka became a graduate assistant with the Northwestern football team in 2016, and was hired by the Chiefs as an offensive quality control coach in 2017. He was promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2018, and helped the team win the Super Bowl during the 2019 season, his first as a player or coach. He was given an additional title of passing game coordinator in 2020. After the 2021 season, he joined the Giants as their offensive coordinator. He added the title of assistant head coach with the Giants in 2024.
- ^ "Big Ten Announces 2009 Football All-Conference Teams and Individual Honors". BigTen.org. November 23, 2009. Archived from the original on November 27, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
- ^ "Five Schools Earn Weekly Accolades for Final Full Non-Conference Saturday". BigTen.org. September 20, 2009. Archived from the original on December 3, 2009. Retrieved November 21, 2009.
- ^ "Northwestern 35, Auburn 38". ESPN.com. January 1, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2010.