EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants coach Brian Daboll confirmed Thursday that assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka will be the offensive playcaller this season.
New York opens the season on the road Sunday against the Washington Commanders, with Kafka calling plays and Russell Wilson as its starting quarterback.
Kafka called the offensive plays most of his first two seasons under Daboll and with the Giants. But late in that second season, there was noticeable discontent, and Kafka had playcalling duties revoked at times, multiple sources have since told ESPN. Daboll then took over the offense last year, when the Giants finished 3-14 and were 31st in points per game.
The decision to hand the responsibility back to Kafka became realistic the moment last season ended.
“Maybe [Daboll] makes some other changes in the way he operates going forward. I talked to him about, ‘Do you really believe that it’s in our best interest for you to continue calling the plays?'” Giants president and owner John Mara said. “I said, ‘I’m not going to demand that you do one thing or the other. But are you better off letting somebody else call the plays?'”
That seemed to start shifting the momentum towards Kafka, even though Daboll made his mark prior to his time with the Giants calling the plays for the Buffalo Bills.
Kafka, meanwhile, was originally recruited by Daboll from the Kansas City Chiefs under the impression he was going to be the playcaller. He interviewed for multiple head coaching jobs the past few offseasons but was not allowed to leave for any lateral positions. Instead, he was promoted last offseason by the Giants.
Kafka called plays all throughout this spring and summer, and the results have been positive. New York averaged 35.7 points per game in three preseason games, and the offense performed consistently better throughout training camp.
“Mike’s done a great job this preseason. He’s done a good job with the staff,” Daboll said. “Got a lot of confidence in Mike and the offensive staff. Up to this point, relative to all the preseason games and the meetings we’ve had, I’ve been very pleased with the offensive staff.”
Kafka called plays this preseason from down on the field, which was a change from previous years when he served as the playcaller from the booth. He anticipates that continuing throughout this season.
“It was good to be on the sideline,” Kafka said. “It’s always to be right there with the players and see it eye to eye and communicate with them more directly. You can do certain elements of that up in the box. But there’s really no substitute for being on the field.
“I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer. Guys obviously operate a bunch of different ways. So I thought it was cool. It was fun.”
The Giants are hoping it all works out better this season with Kafka leading the meetings and offense. Daboll took control of both last season, leaving Kafka on the outside looking in.
This isn’t the only change for the Giants offense this season. Daboll and Kafka are working with an entirely new quarterback room with Wilson, Jameis Winston and rookie Jaxson Dart.
Aside from that, the Giants return 10 offensive starters from last year’s team, with the only change being at the quarterback and now playcaller.
