Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell sees a lot of himself in Mike Kafka . Both went from interim head coach to a lesser role elsewhere, and Campbell believes that detour can ultimately make Kafka better.
Let's go back to January 2016 for a minute. The Miami Dolphins had an interim head coach named Dan Campbell, who arguably just changed things in Miami for the good, but they didn't give him the head coach job. He instead went to the New Orleans Saints to be a tight ends coach and assistant head coach.
Now let's flash to 2026. The New York Giants had an interim head coach named Mike Kafka, who arguably changed things in New York for the good, but they didn't give him the head coach job. He instead went to the Detroit Lions to be a passing game coordinator.
The parallels here are obvious. The move from being the top guy, even if it was an interim spot, to being a spoke on the wheel is a humbling experience.
"I know what that is, when you go from where he's been, you were the interim head coach and then you're kind of sliding back to a role with a new team. That requires – you have got to humble yourself again a little bit and that's a good thing."
For Campbell, he says the thing that really helped him was getting back with Sean Payton, with whom he had been with as a player in New York, Dallas , and partly New Orleans . Campbell said Payton helped him fill in all the things he needed to learn to get back to the head coach ranks.
It took him five years before he did that when the Lions hired him in 2021. Kafka arguably has the upper hand on what Campbell had because he's been an offensive coordinator in the league for a little bit now and has at least had more head coach interviews. He's potentially a really good season in Detroit away from getting a shot to be a head coach somewhere. That is, unless he takes an OC job somewhere. Something that might not be the best idea right now.
Detroit Lions News
Mike Payton June 10, 2026
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Dan Campbell has been through the same pain as Mike Kafka, how the Lions can help with the rebound
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