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Mike Kafka

Giants Name Tim Kelly Interim Offensive Coordinator; Mike Kafka Remains Play-Caller

November 12th, 2025 at 11:49am CST by Connor Byrne

After a promotion from offensive coordinator to interim head coach earlier this week, Mike Kafka will continue to call the plays for the Giants. Kafka named an interim offensive coordinator on Wednesday, though, announcing that tight ends coach Tim Kelly will take the reins (via Dan Duggan of The Athletic).

Kafka confirmed that he and Kelly will work with a new starting quarterback this week in Jameis Winston. With Jaxson Dart battling a concussion, Winston will face the Packers on Sunday.

Dart is “right on track and right on pace” in his recovery, Kafka said (via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post). The Giants haven’t ruled Dart out yet, but they’re understandably taking a cautious approach with the prized first-round rookie.

Kelly, who joined the Giants’ staff ahead of the 2024 campaign, is becoming an O-coordinator for the third time. The 39-year-old previously served in that role with the Texans from 2019-21 and the Titans in 2023.

Kelly was at the helm in Houston during quarterback Deshaun Watson‘s final two years of action with the club. Watson went to the Pro Bowl in both 2019 and 2020 under Kelly, who led an offense that was a middle-of-the-pack unit in those seasons. The Texans were a playoff team in 2019, but they fired head coach Bill O’Brien after an 0-4 start the next year. Romeo Crennel finished the campaign as Houston’s interim HC.

After going 4-8 under Crennel, the Texans hired David Culley in 2021. He retained Kelly, but the OC no longer had Watson at his disposal. Watson spent the entire season inactive after sexual harassment allegations came to light. The Texans primarily turned to Davis Mills under center in Watson’s place. Houston’s offense was among the worst in the league that year, and the team moved on from Culley and his coaching staff after the season.

Kelly quickly landed on his feet on Mike Vrabel‘s staff in Tennessee, working as the Titans’ passing game coordinator in 2022 before taking over the offense the next season. With a fading Ryan Tannehill and struggling rookie Will Levis as their QBs, the Titans finished a woeful 27th in points and 28th in yardage during a 6-11 showing in 2023. They didn’t retain Vrabel or his staff beyond then.

The Giants will look outside for a full-time replacement for Brian Daboll, whom they fired Monday, though Kafka will receive consideration for the job. He and Kelly will try to make their cases for promotions over the next several weeks.

Brian Daboll Fallout: Giants, Kafka, Schoen

November 11th, 2025 at 10:25pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Giants fired head coach Brian Daboll on Monday after his team blew a double-digit fourth-quarter lead in Sunday’s loss to the Bears.

The move has major ramifications for the short- and long-term future of the franchise. The biggest immediate impact is the installment of offensive coordinator Mike Kafka as the interim head coach. He will retain play-calling duties, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, who noted that the Giants offense has been notably better with Kafka calling plays than with Daboll.

Kafka will likely be evaluated as a candidate for the permanent head coaching gig over the rest of the season. Rookie Jaxson Dart has looked like a potential franchise quarterback thus far, so Kafka’s ability to develop the first-round pick will be a crucial part of his audition.

Daboll was rumored to be on the hot seat for a while, so the Giants’ decision was not a complete surprise. Players were aware of the team’s frustration and knew it was possible, if not likely, that Daboll would be removed as a result of his squad’s latest collapse.

The close ties between Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen – who spent three years together in Buffalo before joining the Giants in the same offseason – have already stirred speculation that Schoen could also be on the way out. The Giants are retaining him for now, indicating that he and Daboll are not necessarily a package deal.

A separate decision on Schoen will likely come at the end of the season, according to The Athletic’s Ian O’Connor, partially because he will play a major role in organizing the search process for the Giants’ next head coach. He was heavily involved in the hiring process that brought Daboll to New York in 2022, along with the team’s principal owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, as well as senior personnel consultant (and John Mara’s brother), Chris Mara. John Mara is currently undergoing treatment for cancer; while he stated an intention to continue in his duties, moving on from Schoen would have doubled the team’s search for new leadership while eliminating a key part of that effort.

Schoen may also stick around because the Giants have already invested in his vision for their internal operations. He restructured their approach to the draft and incorporated data analytics into scouting, roster management, and week-to-week game-planning. Ownership was encouraged by this progress, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, so they may not want to move on from Schoen after already implementing many of his ideas.

Giants Fire HC Brian Daboll

November 10th, 2025 at 10:59pm CST by Adam La Rose

Brian Daboll‘s time in New York has come to an end. The fourth-year head coach has been fired, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The news is now official, per a team announcement.

Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka will take over as interim head coach, Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network report. Today’s news comes one day after the Giants dropped to 2-8 for the third straight season under Daboll. The team has blown double-digit leads four times during road losses this year, adding further to the speculation a change could be made before the end of the campaign.

[RELATED: GM Joe Schoen To Lead Giants’ HC Search]

“We spoke this morning about the direction of our franchise on the field, and we have decided that, at this time, it is in our best interest to make a change at the head coaching position,” a statement from owners John Mara and Steve Tisch reads in part. “The past few seasons have been nothing short of disappointing, and we have not met our expectations for this franchise. We understand the frustrations of our fans, and we will work to deliver a significantly improved product.”

Entering the 2025 season, Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen were widely known to be on the hot seat. The selection of first-round quarterback Jaxson Dart seemed to pave the way for one or both to be retained depending on how his development progressed. Dart has shown flashes when on the field, but the rookie suffered a concussion yesterday after being evaluated for one for the fourth different time dating back to the preseason. Criticism regarding the Giants’ handling of Dart has increased given the frequency of hits he has taken, with much of it being directed Daboll’s way.

No other changes are taking place at this point, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports. That means Schoen as well as defensive coordinator Shane Bowen – whose job security has also been questioned through much of the campaign – are safe for the time being. Changes on those fronts will be worth watching for after the year, but for now attention will turn to Kafka — the Giants’ second interim HC (after Steve Spagnuolo in 2017) this century — and his ability to guide the Giants to something of a rebound.

The Daboll-Schoen tandem was hired with high expectations after its success with the Bills. Things got off to a notable start, with the Giants going 9-7-1 in 2022. New York won a wild-card game and Daboll took home Coach of the Year honors. Since then, however, very little has gone according to plan. The Giants are on their way to a third straight season well below .500. Overall, Daboll’s tenure will end with a record of 20-40-1. Tension between he and Schoen was reported this past spring, and other internal matters like the less-than-cordial departure of former DC Don Martindale will leave an unwanted legacy in Daboll’s case.

The 50-year-old has worked as an offensive coordinator with four different NFL teams; he also held that role at Alabama for one year prior to joining the Bills. Daboll’s work in developing Josh Allen made him an attractive candidate on the head coaching market, and he joined the Giants with the hopes of maximizing Daniel Jones‘ talent. Both before and after Jones inked a four-year, $160MM pact, that did not prove to be the case.

Jones was cut midway through last season, one in which Saquon Barkley – who joined the Eagles in free agency upon playing out the franchise tag – enjoyed a record-breaking debut campaign. In the aftermath of the commitment made by Daboll and Schoen backfiring, many pointed to this past offseason as a logical point for at least one to be replaced. Immediately after the campaign, though, Mara confirmed both would be retained.

It nevertheless became clear at that point Mara’s patience was running thin. The draft provided the Giants with a potential new franchise passer in Dart, and as expected he quickly took over starting duties after Russell Wilson opened the year atop the depth chart. Daboll unilaterally made the decision to bench Wilson and replace him with Dart, a move many viewed as an attempt to avoid a firing. Schoen and Co. endorsed the switch, one whose impact cannot fully be seen given the season-ending injuries suffered by Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo.

Kafka will be tasked with taking charge of a shorthanded offensive unit the rest of the way. This will mark his first head coaching opportunity at any level. Kafka, 38, saw his role with the Giants vary over time but he has once again handled play-calling duties in 2025. It will be interesting to see if that remains the case over the closing weeks of the campaign.

Kafka has been lined to outside HC interest in the past, and his stock for the 2026 hiring cycle will of course be greatly influenced by his performances over the next two months. The Giants have not been able to find stability on the sidelines since the end of the Tom Coughlin era. Including Kafka, the team has employed six different head coaches since 2016.

Mara and the Giants generally avoid making in-season moves such as this. Indeed, Kafka is only the fourth coach to hold the interim title in franchise history. If he earns the full-time gig, New York will not be in the market for another reset on the sidelines. Failing that, however, the Giants will join the Titans (and, no doubt, other teams) in seeking out a new hire. Daboll should not be expected to receive a second head coaching look in the near future based on how his first stint went, but he could be sought after once more as a coordinator.

Giants GM Joe Schoen To Lead HC Search

November 10th, 2025 at 9:48pm CST by Connor Byrne

Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll joined the organization together in 2022, but they’re not leaving as a package deal. After Daboll steered the Giants to a 20-40-1 record, including a 2-8 start this year, they fired him on Monday. Owners John Mara and Steve Tisch agreed it was time to move on from Daboll during a phone conversation on Monday morning, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post reports.

Mara and Tisch made the decision to choose offensive coordinator Mike Kafka as the Giants’ interim head coach, according to Schwartz. The team later announced that Schoen is staying on to lead the search for a full-time successor to Daboll.

“We feel like Joe has assembled a good young nucleus of talent, and we look forward to its development,” said Mara. Unfortunately, the results over the past three years have not been what any of us want. We take full responsibility for those results and look forward to the kind of success our fans expect.”

The Giants’ official statement will be the last time they address the Daboll firing for now, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports. They’re not planning to make ownership or Schoen available for interviews this week.

This isn’t the ending the Giants envisioned when the Schoen/Daboll reign began in promising fashion in 2022. The Giants went 9-7-1 and won a wild-card playoff game over the Vikings before losing to the Eagles in the divisional round. Daboll earned Coach of the Year honors.

New York has posted horrid results over the past two-plus years, but Mara and Tisch continue to hold Schoen in high regard, per Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports. Giants ownership is of the belief that Schoen has been a significant upgrade over predecessor Dave Gettleman, who was at the helm from 2018-21. The Giants stumbled to a 19-46 mark under Gettleman and failed to earn a playoff berth.

Although the team Schoen has assembled will miss the playoffs for the third year in a row, the Giants have enough talent to make their head coaching job a “coveted” opening, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says. A new head coach stands to inherit first-round quarterback Jaxson Dart, No. 1 wide receiver Malik Nabers, co-NFL sacks leader Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, and Dexter Lawrence, among other enticing pieces.

While it could be a couple of months before the Giants name their next head coach, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, former Raiders HC Antonio Pierce, and Colts DC Lou Anarumo are among names to watch, Rapoport relays.

Spagnuolo has won four Super Bowls as a coordinator, including one with the Giants under Tom Coughlin, but he finished an ugly 10-38 as the St. Louis Rams’ head coach from 2009-11. Spagnuolo then went 1-3 as the Giants’ interim head coach in 2017, briefly taking over after the firing of Ben McAdoo.

Pierce had a great run as a Giants linebacker from 2005-09, winning a title as part of a Spagnuolo-coached defense. Like Spagnuolo, though, Pierce’s initial experience as an NFL head coach didn’t go well. The Raiders dismissed Pierce last January after going 9-17 under him in parts of two seasons.

Anarumo is a Staten Island native who worked as the Giants’ defensive backs coach in 2018. His son currently serves as a pro scout in the organization, Vacchiano notes. Anarumo, then the Bengals’ D-coordinator, interviewed for the Giants’ head coaching job before it went to Daboll. The longtime assistant “left a strong impression” during that meeting, sources told Vacchiano. With Anarumo an important part of the Colts’ unexpected turnaround this year, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Giants or other teams in the market for a head coach speak with him in the coming months.

Giants OC Mike Kafka To Return To Play-Calling Duties

September 4th, 2025 at 9:12pm CST by Ben Levine

Mike Kafka will once again be calling offensive plays for the Giants in 2025. Head coach Brian Daboll revealed that his offensive coordinator will return to his role as offensive play-caller, per Dan Duggan of The Athletic.

“Mike’s done a great job this preseason. He’s done a good job with the staff,” Daboll said (via ESPN’s Jordan Raanan). “Got a lot of confidence in Mike and the offensive staff. Up to this point, relative to all the preseason games and the meetings we’ve had, I’ve been very pleased with the offensive staff.”

After working his way up the coaching ranks in Kansas City, Kafka joined Daboll’s new staff as offensive coordinator in 2022. After impressing during his first preseason at the helm, Kafka was handed the reins to the offense by his boss. He spent two years handling the offensive play calling while also garnering some head coaching interest.

After finishing as a middle-of-the-road offense in 2022, the Giants had one of the league’s worst offensive showings in 2023. This led Daboll to strip Kafka of his play-calling duties several times towards the latter part of that season, according to Raanan. With “noticeable discontent” on offense, Daboll decided to take over full-time play-calling duties for the 2024 season.

The offense didn’t show much progress with the head coach running the show, and Giants owner John Mara hinted that the team considered pivoting back to Kafka the moment the 2024 campaign came to an end.

“Maybe [Daboll] makes some other changes in the way he operates going forward. I talked to him about, ‘Do you really believe that it’s in our best interest for you to continue calling the plays?'” Mara said (via Raanan). “I said, ‘I’m not going to demand that you do one thing or the other. But are you better off letting somebody else call the plays?'”

There will be one major difference this time around. As Duggan notes, Kafka will call the plays on the sideline, just as he had done throughout the 2025 preseason. During his first three seasons as offensive coordinator, Kafka had been in the booth.

“It was good to be on the sideline,” Kafka said (via Raanan). “It’s always to be right there with the players and see it eye to eye and communicate with them more directly. You can do certain elements of that up in the box. But there’s really no substitute for being on the field.

“I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer. Guys obviously operate a bunch of different ways. So I thought it was cool. It was fun.”

The team’s QB grouping stayed somewhat consistent through the coaching staff’s first three seasons, but with the Giants adding both veteran Russell Wilson and first-round QB Jaxson Dart, it seems they want to optimize their offensive approach ahead of a critical 2025 season.

NFC East Rumors: Cowboys, Eagles, Strahan

May 18th, 2025 at 3:23pm CST by Ely Allen

The Athletic beat writer Charlotte Carroll was astute to notice that someone other than head coach Brian Daboll was calling plays at Giants minicamp recently. This report was confirmed when SportsNet New York’s Connor Hughes saw assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka calling plays for the second day in a row.

While this may suggest some uncertainty about who will be calling the offense for New York in 2025, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post was quick to report that a change isn’t likely at this time. Kafka was originally given play-calling duties for the first time in his career during Daboll’s first year as the head coach. Daboll had wanted his focus to be more big-picture and had assigned the responsibility to Kafka. Just before the 2024 season, though, Daboll took over play-calling duties for the whole year.

A time may come in which Kafka gets another opportunity to call plays in the NFL, but for now, his lack of experience in comparison to Daboll’s is likely to keep the responsibility with the head coach in 2025.

Here are a few more rumors from around the NFC East:

  • After missing his entire rookie season with a torn ACL in the preseason, Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown had a productive debut season in 2024. In 13 games, Overshown started 12 contests and stuffed the stat sheet in the process. He tallied 90 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, five sacks, five quarterback hits, four passes defensed, an interception returned for a touchdown, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Unfortunately, that production came to a screeching halt when he suffered late-season tears to his ACL, MCL, and PCL. Overshown is making sure not to rush anything in his recovery, telling RJ Ochoa of SB Nation that, while he hasn’t ruled out starting in Week 1, he knows he’ll probably be starting the season on the physically unable to perform list. Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram adds that November has been identified as a realistic target for Overshown’s return.
  • Ben VanSumeren is entering his third season with the Eagles. While he has made two starts in his career, his main impact has come on special teams. Even more interesting, VanSumeren’s rookie-year start was on defense at linebacker, but his second-year start was on offense as a fullback. In fact, all of his non-special teams snaps were on defense as a rookie and on offense in his sophomore campaign. According to Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer, head coach Nick Sirianni disclosed that, after re-signing VanSumeren, the third-year player has been officially labeled a fullback. While the team intends to cross-train him in both rooms, he will begin in the running backs room in 2025.
  • Lastly, it was recently reported that Eli Manning is not the only former Giant looking to acquire an ownership stake in the franchise. According to Schwartz, Hall of Fame pass rusher Michael Strahan will compete with Manning in an attempt to buy up to a 10 percent ownership stake in the Giants. Strahan is pairing with billionaire Marc Lasry to put together their bid.

Momentum Building For Mike Kafka To Reclaim Giants’ Play-Calling Duties

January 30th, 2025 at 3:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

Going 3-14, the Giants are attempting to get by while making only minor staff changes. In addition to retaining their GM and HC, the Giants are keeping OC Mike Kafka and DC Shane Bowen. Only DBs coach Jerome Henderson has become a notable scapegoat thus far.

This is a rather interesting setup, especially as Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen will enter the season on some of the NFL’s hottest seats, but the former may be eyeing a significant change. A year after taking over as the Giants’ primary play-caller, Daboll saw John Mara mention the prospect of him giving up that role again. Weeks later, the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz notes a “strong sentiment” exists in the building for Kafka to retake play-calling duties.

Despite Daboll coming over after being at the helm for Josh Allen‘s superstar ascent, he gave Kafka the play sheet to start his Giants tenure. The ex-Chiefs QBs coach impressed during his first season, which featured a surprisingly efficient Daniel Jones offering and produced a divisional-round appearance. The Giants were unable to sustain that form, as Jones regressed significantly — to the point the team cut bait before season’s end. Nevertheless, Kafka remains in the running for the Saints’ HC job. He has managed this after the Giants have gone 9-25 since their divisional-round game in Philadelphia.

New York ranked 30th in scoring in 2023 and 31st in ’24. The 2023 season featured what appeared to be a good excuse, with Jones missing much of it due to neck and knee injuries, but Daboll was unable to move the struggling QB back on track. Kafka has received at least one HC interview in each of the past three offseasons. He joins Anthony Weaver and rumored frontrunner Kellen Moore as coaches left in the Saints derby — after the exits of Joe Brady, Kliff Kingsbury and Mike McCarthy.

Daboll has far more experience calling plays, having done so at his four previous OC stops; Kafka would stand to benefit if he helps the Giants rebound while calling the shots. Daboll shifting to a CEO sideline role may be helpful, as he attempts to manage a third season. The Giants are also set to have a new starting quarterback — be it one of the top rookies, depending on the Titans and Browns’ decisions at Nos. 1 and 2 — or a veteran stopgap.

The Giants have been linked to having Cam Ward fans in the building, and they were doing plenty of homework on Shedeur Sanders during the 2024 season. At No. 3 overall, New York as a decent chance — as this draft’s top non-QB prospects are viewed as being much better than either of the two premier college arms coming out — of landing one of the two. It will be interesting to see if the Giants landing a rookie or a veteran as their preferred starter affects their play-calling plan. As of now, Kafka said he has not been told — should he not land the Saints’ HC job — who will hold this role in 2025.

NFC Coaching Rumors: Bucs, Bowles, Kafka, Martindale, Lions, Falcons, Cardinals

January 27th, 2025 at 9:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

Liam Coen‘s Buccaneers divorce has become one of the most memorable staff separations in recent years. In addition to the Bucs’ OC search, multiple additional fallout items have emerged from Coen backtracking on an extension agreement to accept the Jaguars’ HC offer. Some around the league are now wondering how willing coordinator candidates will be to join up with Todd Bowles, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones writes. Bowles has evaded firing rumors for multiple seasons, though it was quieter on that front in 2024. While it is a bit odd that he continues to win division titles (3-for-3 in that regard), the rumors about the veteran HC’s murky status in Tampa persist.

On that note, Jones adds the Bucs should not be expected to let any coaches out of their contracts to follow Coen to Jacksonville. Bowles, Jason Licht and assistant GM Mike Greenberg attempted to reach Coen on Thursday, when he was supposed to sign his Bucs extension. Coen had already delayed the signing. The one-and-done Tampa Bay OC had even fibbed about a personal matter to continue his Jags negotiations, with ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter indicated during a Pat McAfee Show appearance the Bucs were plenty irked about his exit process.

Here is the latest from the NFC side of the coaching carousel:

  • The Bucs have completed four interviews with outside candidates, but an internal Coen replacement option has surfaced as well. Pass-game coordinator Josh Grizzard is on the radar to be promoted, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo notes. Grizzard, 34, has been in the NFL since 2017 and joined Bowles’ staff to work under Coen. The Bucs thought they had avoided a scenario in which they use a fourth OC in four seasons, via the Coen agreement, and Mayfield will now have a sixth play-caller since the 2021 campaign. An internal promotion would help ensure some familiarity.
  • Mike Kafka is still in the running for the Saints‘ HC job, though Kellen Moore and Mike McCarthy may be more likely to land the job. If the Giants’ OC were to pull an upset and jump from a 3-14 team to another club’s top coaching job, ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan notes he would be expected to bring Wink Martindale with him as DC. Kafka and Martindale worked together in New York for two seasons, before the latter’s explosive 2024 exit. Martindale, who spent the 2024 season as Michigan’s DC, interviewed for the Colts and Falcons’ DC jobs this month.
  • Acting swiftly to fill the void created when Kelvin Sheppard made the jump to replace Aaron Glenn, the Lions are elevating another recent NFL linebacker. Detroit will promote Shaun Dion Hamilton to its LBs coaching post, 247Sports.com’s Matt Zenitz tweets. Hamilton attempted to make the Lions’ active roster in 2022 but instead found a job on their coaching staff. Dan Campbell hired Hamilton, an ex-Washington defender, as an assistant. He moved up to assistant LBs coach in 2023, and at 29, is climbing the ladder again.
  • The Falcons are making two hires for Jeff Ulbrich‘s defensive staff. They added Mike Rutenberg as pass-game coordinator and Nate Ollie as D-line coach. Rutenberg will follow Ulbrich from the Jets, having coached their linebackers for four seasons. The Robert Saleh hire oversaw the development of Quincy Williams from waiver claim to All-Pro, while Ollie was also on Saleh’s first Jets staff. The Colts hired him as D-line coach in 2022, and he landed with the Texans as assistant D-line coach last year.
  • The Cardinals are losing their linebackers coach to a college coordinator role. Virginia Tech hired Sam Siefkes to be its next DC. Jonathan Gannon had hired Siefkes after two years as a Vikings assistant. Prior to that, he had served in the college ranks, heading up Wofford’s defense. Additionally in Arizona, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes the team is not bringing back D-line coach Derrick LeBlanc. On the Dolphins’ staff before heading to Arizona in 2023, LeBlanc had spent nearly two decades at the college level.

Saints Schedule Second HC Interviews With Mike Kafka, Anthony Weaver

January 20th, 2025 at 8:57am CST by Adam La Rose

Many coaches whose seasons are now over are free to interview for head coaching vacancies around the league. The Saints’ search is ongoing, but its second phase will include a pair of staffers who did not work for playoff teams in 2024.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka has a second interview scheduled with the Saints for Tuesday. Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver will speak with New Orleans for a second time on Wednesday, Pelissero adds. Neither staffer has been a head coach at the college or NFL levels before, but they are now both finalists for this position.

Kafka has been a regular name to watch for head coaching vacancies dating back to previous hiring cycles. The 37-year-old has spent his last three years with the Giants, but a January report noted he could be let go in the event head coach Brian Daboll were to be retained. The latter is indeed set to remain in place for 2025, but for now Kafka is still part of New York’s staff.

Weaver, 44, has spent time on six different NFL staffs since 2012. He has extensive experience as a defensive line coach, but during his final two seasons with the Ravens he also had the title of associate head coach. Weaver took over as Miami’s DC for 2024, and the team delivered a notable performance on that side of the ball. The Dolphins finished ninth in the NFL against the run and pass, ranking fourth in total defense and 10th in points allowed. Weaver, like Kafka, was among the first candidates to interview with the Saints in the team’s initial round of meetings.

New Orleans moved on from Dennis Allen after Week 9, leaving him with an overall record of 18-25 as Sean Payton‘s successor. Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi handled interim HC duties the rest of the way, a span in which the Saints dealt with numerous major injuries and went 3-5. Several candidates (including Rizzi) have interviewed for the full-time position in recent days, and coaches on teams eliminated in the divisional round can meet in person starting today. In the case of Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn in particular, that could be especially noteworthy.

Via PFR’s search tracker, here is an updated look at the Saints’ situation:

2025 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker

January 15th, 2025 at 11:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

With the Cowboys and Mike McCarthy splitting up, seven teams have made coaching changes so far during this year’s cycle. Here are the candidates connected to each of the HC-needy franchises. If more teams make changes, they will be added to the list.

Updated 2-11-25 (11:40am CT)

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

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