Andy Reid on Lions assistant Mike Kafka: 'I think the world of him'

Phoenix — Mike Kafka is entering a behind-the-scenes role on the Detroit Lions ' staff after four seasons as offensive coordinator for the New York Giants, which includes seven games as the team's interim head coach. But while he might not be a public-facing figure in his new role as the Lions' passing game coordinator , one of the game's most renowned offensive minds is intrigued by what he'll bring to the Lions this fall. Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who has won three Super Bowls, drafted Kafka as a quarterback out of Northwestern when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2010, and gave Kafka his start in pro coaching in 2017, called Kafka "a brilliant kid.

" "Not a kid anymore — a brilliant guy," Reid said about the 38-year-old. "He's got a great football mind. ...

He'll be good for the Lions. " Kafka brought some intrigue as an offensive coordinator candidate but ultimately lost out on the job to Drew Petzing . The fact that Detroit was able to land him without putting him in a coordinator role was "fortunate," Lions coach Dan Campbell said at the NFL Combine.

"That worked out really well. " Kafka joined the Chiefs' staff in 2017 as an offensive quality control coach and was promoted to quarterbacks coach the following season, when Patrick Mahomes became the team's starting quarterback. He added a passing game coordinator title to his job for the 2020 and 2021 seasons before receiving a promotion to be the offensive coordinator for Brian Daboll's staff in New York.