Giants AHC/OC Mike Kafka Open to Calling Plays Again

New York Giants offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Mike Kafka is back on the radio, at least for the spring.

Kafka, who called plays for the Giants' offense during the first two seasons of the Brian Daboll era, had the job removed from his plate by Daboll last year, coinciding with a promotion to assistant head coach. 

But after the Giants offense, with Daboll calling the plays, finished worse last year in the major statistical categories, Kafka, based on what has been seen so far this spring, appears to be trending toward resuming that role for the coming season.

“I would say right now, whatever Dabs needs me to do, that is what I'm going to do,” Kafka said last week when asked about regaining the play-calling duties. 

“If he needs me to call plays, if he needs me to communicate with the quarterback, if he needs me to do certain things. I am going to do whatever he asks me to do.”

With Kafka on the radio, the Giants offense enjoyed its best season in the first year of the Daboll era. New York finished 19th overall in offense, fourth in rushing, 26th in passing, and tied for 15th in points scored per game.

The following year, with Kafka still at the controls, the Giants' offense, which, unlike the year prior, failed to keep its key starters healthy, fell to 29th overall, 16th in rushing, 31st in passing, and 30th in scoring.

Things didn’t perk up for the Giants last year with Daboll at the helm. The Giants' offense, which again dealt with key injuries and subpar quarterback play and went through their first season without running back Saquon Barkley, finished 30th overall, 23rd in rushing, 28th in passing, and 31st in scoring. 

Daboll, who has made no secret of his feelings about calling the plays, has been tight-lipped regarding his intentions for the coming year. However, based on past years' patterns, whoever calls the plays in the spring usually ends up being the play caller for the coming season.

Adding to the likelihood of Kafka resuming his role as a play-caller is the Jaxson Dart factor. Daboll has been attached to the rookie’s hip during the practices as he has taken a huge hands-on role in getting Dart up to speed. 

It's possible that Daboll would prefer to focus on developing Dart, in addition to spending a little more time with the defense and special teams, both of which were part of the problem last year as well, thereby giving Kafka back the playcalling responsibilities.

If Kafka does indeed get the job back, he will do so, having reflected on his earlier stint as a first-time playcaller and what he can learn from that.  

“You're learning every year, learning and growing every year,” he said. “Whether I'm learning from my experiences when I was calling it, when I wasn't calling it, other play callers across the league, you study them and their habits.

“I think each year, if you're not looking for that to grow as a professional, then you're not taking a step in the right direction. I've always used that, whether it's phase two, phase three, the offseason, as kind of that jumping point for me.”

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