The New York Giants’ head coaching search is off to an early start following the mid-season firing of Brian Daboll.
General manager Joe Schoen is leading the search for the team’s next head coach and is expected to lean on his and the organization’s combined connections to find the right guy for the job.
This could lead the Giants back to a familiar face as one of their top head coaching candidates.
Giants could be interested in Steve Spagnuolo as their next head coach
Among those familiar faces is former Giants and current Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. A legend in the game, Spagnuolo has been leading the elite Chiefs’ defense since 2019, winning three Super Bowls in that span.
Spagnuolo has two previous stints with the Giants as defensive coordinator (2007-2008 and 2015-2017). He was the architect of the elite defense that helped the Giants win Super Bowl XLII.
At the end of his second tenure with Big Blue, Spagnuolo was the Giants’ interim head coach for four games, going 1-3 in that span. He then left to join the Chiefs and has etched his name into Pro Football History again.
Now, Spagnuolo is again viewed as a top head coaching candidate, especially with the Giants, because he has familiarity with the organization and prior head coaching experience (St. Louis Rams from 2009-2011).
Although Spagnuolo wasn’t very successful in his first attempt at being a head coach, the experience is a valuable trait in the eyes of the Giants, who feel they need stability and a culture-setter at the position. Spagnuolo could be that, as well as a defensive-minded coach who can unlock the talent of their underperforming unit.
The Giants are expected to have an interest in Spagnuolo this offseason. He is one of the top coordinators in the league, he is experienced, and he has familiarity with the organization — he checks all of their boxes.
Plus, he has familiarity with another coach on the Giants’ staff who could be retained.
Could Mike Kafka be retained as the offensive coordinator
Mike Kafka is currently filling in as the Giants’ interim head coach. He has been their offensive coordinator since 2022 and also served as the assistant head coach since 2024.
Prior to his time with the Giants, Kafka coached on the same Kansas City Chiefs staff that Spagnuolo is on. Kafka was with the Chiefs in a variety of roles from 2017 to 2021, primarily as a quarterbacks coach.
Now Kafka is auditioning to be the next head coach of the New York Giants (or whichever other franchise might be interested).
As interim head coach, Kafka has provided a sort of spark to the team through two games, but he has yet to produce his first win for the franchise. Nevertheless, it’s been a solid audition so far.
However, it is likely that the Giants will want to bring in new blood at the head coaching spot. If that ends up being Spagnuolo, perhaps there is an opportunity to keep Kafka around, pairing him with Spagnuolo to replicate the Chiefs’ model.
Ownership might want to maintain continuity, replicate the KC model
If the Giants hire Spagnuolo, a defensive-minded head coach, the next big question would be who he chooses as his offensive coordinator. Kafka would be a sensible choice for Spagnuolo, considering the two coaches’ familiarity with one another and the Chiefs’ program that Spagnuolo hails from.
Keeping Kafka as the offensive coordinator would also help maintain a sense of coaching continuity for QB Jaxson Dart. His development is the most important project for the Giants going into 2026, and Kafka, by all accounts, has done a solid job helping the rookie achieve such great success this season.
Kafka could be retained as offensive coordinator/assistant head coach, pairing with Spagnuolo, and maintaining a semblance of continuity on the offensive side of the ball while the Giants overhaul their defense and instill a new culture through Spagnuolo’s leadership.
This would give the Giants a rare opportunity to replicate the model of the Chiefs’ coaching staff, which has dominated the AFC for the better part of the last decade.
Granted, this plan would be reliant on Spagnuolo wanting Kafka as his offensive coordinator and on Kafka being interested in remaining with the organization. There is still a chance that Spagnuolo opts not to pursue head coaching jobs, and there is a chance Kafka gets a head coaching job elsewhere.
Plus, fans might not love the idea of maintaining continuity for a franchise that has been so bad over the last 10 years. Some are in strong favor of wiping the slate clean and bringing in fresh faces to overhaul the organization.
Nevertheless, Kafka is held in high regard inside the Giants’ facilities — as is Spagnuolo. This could be a pairing that ownership jumps after.
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