New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka has been linked to multiple head-coaching vacancies this offseason and will reportedly at least have the chance to be a head coach in some form later this month.
That is because NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Wednesday that Kafka and Cleveland Browns special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone were chosen to be the head coaches of the Senior Bowl.
Kafka isn't the only member of the Giants coaching staff who will be coaching in such an event.
As ESPN's Adam Schefter reported, Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen and Atlanta Falcons special teams coordinator Marquice Williams will coach the Shrine Bowl:
Practices for this year's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, will take place from Jan. 28-30 with the game scheduled for Feb. 1.
That it is coaches on the Giants and Browns in charge is notable, as they will be picking quite early in the 2025 NFL draft. Cleveland has the No. 2 overall pick, while New York has the No. 3 selection.
Kafka and Ventrone will have the opportunity to work with some of college football's biggest names and then report back to their respective teams as they make their decisions on draft day. While the prospects at the Senior Bowl may not be the ones they are interested in with their first-round picks, they could be candidates early in the second round or beyond.
This also gives Kafka another experience as he looks to one day move up into the head-coaching ranks.
He already interviewed with the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints this offseason. If he doesn't land either of those jobs, he can point to his experience as the coach of the Senior Bowl and ability to recognize and work with young talent in future interviews.
The young talent in Mobile, Alabama, will include a number of notable names college football fans will instantly recognize.
Eric Edholm of NFL.com shared the full rosters, and players such as Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II, Michigan running back Donovan Edwards and Oregon wide receiver Tez Johnson stand out.
But nobody stands out more than the quarterbacks at the Senior Bowl, and this year will be no different with Oregon's Dillon Gabriel headlining the list after he was a Heisman Trophy finalist.
He will be joined by Ohio State's Will Howard, Alabama's Jalen Milroe, Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart, Notre Dame's Riley Leonard and Louisville's Tyler Shough.
None of those signal-callers are expected to be taken off the board in the first handful of picks, but the Senior Bowl will give them a chance to build on their strong college careers and cement themselves as picks as the draft progresses.