Coaching Speculation
As speculation runs from Chapel Hill, N.C. through Kansas City to Mississippi as to who will be the next head coach of the New York Giants, maybe the team already has its next head coach.
University of North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick and Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who both won Super Bowls as defensive coordinators with the Giants, are being rumored to take over for the fired Brian Daboll in 2026. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kifflin has also been mentioned.
What about Mike Kafka?
Kafka’s Opportunity
The timing of the Daboll firing and the promotion of offensive coordinator Kafka to interim head coach is interesting to say the least. In getting rid of Daboll now, with seven games and a bye week left in the season the Giants get a good look at the former quarterback and how he handles not just the present quarterback — Jaxson Dart, but the team in general. And what he does during the bye week will also be watched closely,
Kafka, with any success from this current 2-8 team and how Dart progresses with him, could earn himself the job.
Kafka’s Background
Drafted in the fourth round by the Philadelphia Eagles out of Northwestern in 2010, Kafka showed the knowledge to be a good quarterback in the league. He just lacked some of the skills, namely a strong arm. But you don’t need a lot of zip on the ball to be a coach.
Andy Reid, who drafted Kafka, hired him in 2017 to be his quarterback coach in Kansas City. The Giants hired him away from KC to be Daboll’s offensive coordinator in 2022. He’s had head coaching interviews in various spots along the way, so he would be far from a reach.
Giants Schedule Impact
How the Giants do these final games and the next three are tough — Green Bay, Detroit and New England — although it eases up a little the final month with Washington, Minnesota, Las Vegas and Dallas, might determine Kafka and the Giants future.
Kafka is not expected to have Dart, who is in concession protocol, this week against the Packers. But he should be back for the final six games. Football just might be interesting in New York again.
Caught in the Draft
Here’s what the top 10 picks in the 2026 NFL draft would like today:
1 Tennessee (1-8), 2 Giants (2-8), 3 New Orleans (2-8), 4 Cleveland (2-7), 5 Jets (2-7), 6 Las Vegas (2-7), 7 Washington (3-7), 8 Miami (3-7), 9 Arizona 3-6, 10 Cincinnati (3-6).
How the West was Won – AFC Version
Denver (8-2) hosts Kansas City (5-4) in a huge AFC West matchup. The Broncos, who have won 10 straight home games, can put some distance between themselves and the Chiefs with a win. And perhaps put an end to Kansas City’s nine-year reign as division champs.
Here are some interesting pieces of history around the game.
Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes is 13-1 in his career against the Broncos, including his first-ever win back in 2017.
While the Broncos are on a roll at home in Mile High, the Chiefs are 1-3 on the road this season and 1-4 in their last five road games.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is a league-best 22-4 after his bye week during his career. He 13-1 with Philadelphia and is 9-3 with Kansas City.
Denver head coach Sean Payton has a winning record against Reid, however. Payton’s New Orleans Saints were 4-1 against Reid’s Eagles and he is 2-2 as the Broncos head coach against Reid’s Chiefs.
How the West was Won – NFC Version
The Los Angeles Rams (7-2) host the Seattle Seahawks (7-2) for first place in the NFC West. Both teams have won four straight games, including wins over the other NFC West teams (Arizona and San Francisco) last week. Seattle has also won a league-best 10 consecutive road games.
Seattle has the best winning differential in the NFC at +11.5, while the Rams are a close second at +10.9.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was questionable all preseason, is having a MVP season for Los Angeles. The 37-year-old Stafford is averaging a league-best 269.7 yards per game and also leads the league with 25 touchdown passes.
Stafford will face a stingy Seattle defense that is also second in the league in sacks with 32.
This game also features Seattle wide receiver Cooper Kupp coming back to LA where he was a star for the Rams and won Super Bowl MVP for them in Super Bowl LVI.
Symmetry at its Best
The NFL’s Week 10 began with a 10-7 game on Thursday night (Denver over Las Vegas) and ended with a 10-7 game on Monday night (Philly over Green Bay).
