Twenty years after he coached Mike Kafka at St. Rita, Todd Kuska is happy but not surprised to see where his quarterback wound up.
Kafka, who later played at Northwestern and in the NFL before segueing into a coaching career, was named the interim head coach of the New York Giants on Nov. 10.
The 38-year-old replaces Brian Daboll, who was fired a day after the Giants blew a 10-point lead in the closing minutes of a 24-20 loss to the Bears at Soldier Field.
“That was exciting,” Kuska said of Kafka getting his first head-coaching job. “I texted him today: ‘It didn’t happen the way you wanted, but you’re there.'”
Kafka graduated from St. Rita in 2005 before moving on to Northwestern, where he had one of college football’s wildest stat lines in a 38-35 loss to Auburn in the 2010 Outback Bowl: 47-of-78 passing for 532 yards and four touchdowns with five interceptions.
He played for coach Andy Reid and the Philadelphia Eagles in 2010 and spent time with several other teams before retiring in 2015 and joining Northwestern’s coaching staff as a graduate assistant in 2016.
Kafka reunited with Reid in Kansas City with the Chiefs in 2017 and was with them in a variety of roles through 2021, winning a Super Bowl ring in the 2019 season. He joined the Giants staff as offensive coordinator in 2022 and added the title of assistant head coach last season.
Along the way, Kafka’s name has surfaced as a candidate for numerous coaching openings. So Kuska saw this coming.
“His understanding of the game … was really high at that point as a junior, senior in high school,” Kuska said. “He shows the ability to really know football inside and out.”
Kafka is stepping into a situation that is challenging to say the least. The Giants are 2-8 and star rookie quarterback Jackson Dart suffered a concussion in the loss to the Bears, leaving the starting job to 36-year-old Russell Wilson.
But, Kuska said, “Life is about taking advantage of the opportunity you’ve got.”
Kafka hasn’t forgotten his roots, according to Kuska.
“Anytime I’ve asked him to do something, he always was able to,” Kuska said. “He knows he’s a Rita guy through and through.”