Lions To Add Mike Kafka, Retain Jim O’Neil

The Lions made their offensive coordinator choice recently, tabbing Drew Petzing to call plays in 2026. But they are adding another seasoned play-caller to their staff.

Mike Kafka is joining Dan Campbell‘s staff for an unspecified “high ranking” position, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. The recent Giants interim HC called plays for most of his OC tenure in New York. Rather than hit the coordinator carousel, Kafka will step back and hold a key non-play-calling role in Detroit.

Campbell also reached an agreement to retain Jim O’Neil, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. A former NFL DC who interviewed for the Jets’ DC post, O’Neil has been in place as a defensive assistant in Detroit since 2024. The Lions also announced their Petzing hire Monday.

The Lions had interviewed Kafka for the job ultimately given to Petzing, and the former also met with the Eagles during their long-running OC search. Prior to that, the Buccaneers brought in Kafka about their OC vacancy. Other OC positions have opened and will open soon, as the HC carousel still spins, but Kafka will settle in Michigan for the 2026 season. This will be Kafka’s third NFL employer (as a coach), after stints with the Chiefs and Giants.

Taking what amounted to a courtesy Giants HC interview after being their interim leader to close the season, Kafka went 2-5 in that role. Though, the Giants’ two wins came over disinterested Raiders and Cowboys teams; the latter benched Dak Prescott midway through the Week 18 Giants matchup.

Kafka, 38, still received HC consideration during multiple previous cycles. He met with the Bears and interviewed twice with the Saints last year. He met with the Titans in 2024 and spoke twice with the Seahawks that year, later being blocked from interviewing for Seattle’s OC job. The Cardinals, Colts and Panthers met with Kafka in 2023, on the heels of the Giants’ surprising divisional-round trek.

The Giants have been unable to approach that level of success since, leading to their $20MM-per-year John Harbaugh contract. New York did show some promise with Jaxson Dart, even if it rarely translated to wins. The team ranked 17th in scoring offense and 13th in yardage, with Kafka taking back the play sheet in 2025 — after Brian Daboll called the shots in 2024. The team ranked 31st in scoring in 2024.

This will be an interesting dynamic for the Lions, who demoted one-and-done OC John Morton in Week 10. Campbell called plays the rest of the way, and the Lions finished fourth in scoring offense and fifth in yardage. Campbell now has two three-season play-callers on his staff, with Petzing having that responsibility from 2023-25 in Arizona.

Formerly the Browns and 49ers’ DC, O’Neil has been off that tier for 10 years now (though, he did serve as Northwestern’s DC from 2021-22). Settling in with the Lions over the past two seasons, O’Neil had worked with the Jets previously under Rex Ryan. Aaron Glenn has not made a decision on his next DC yet, but two of his candidates — O’Neil and Mathieu Araujo — have taken other jobs. The Jaguars hired the recent Dolphins CBs coach last week.