‘No tension’ between OC Kafka, coach Daboll
INDIANAPOLIS — So much has been made of the makeup and working relationships on Giants coach Brian Daboll’s staff in the wake of the ugliness of the Wink Martindale departure and the exodus of several assistants who went on to jobs with different teams.
Anyone trying to connect the dots could have been tempted to extrapolate that Daboll is a bear to work for and that the changes on his staff were based on the desire of some to leave him behind. Why would tight ends coach Andy Bischoff leave for the same position with the Chargers? Why did Jeff Nixon leave an NFL job as running backs coach to go to Syracuse?
As it turns out, neither of these exits has anything to do with not wanting to work with Daboll. Nixon wants to become a college head coach, and taking on the role of offensive coordinator at Syracuse should provide a clearer path. Bischoff is extremely close with the Harbaugh family — Jim is the new Chargers coach — and is also friends with Greg Roman, hired as the Chargers’ offensive coordinator. Heading out west to reunite with those guys made sense for him.
There was unsettling noise that offensive coordinator Mike Kafka was looking for a way out to get away from Daboll. In some circles, it was portrayed as a matter of when, not if, Kafka picked up and left. He was a finalist for the Seahawks head-coaching job that went to Mike Macdonald. When Macdonald wanted to speak with Kafka about the offensive coordinator role in Seattle, the Giants denied permission for the interview, as was within their rights to block a lateral move. For Kafka, interviewing for the offensive coordinator role with the team that just decided not to hire him as the head coach would have been a strange scenario.
Kafka’s unrest, if it existed at any level, proved to be exaggerated.
Daboll hired Kafka in 2023 despite never having worked with him before. Daboll bestowed upon Kafka the play-calling duties even though Kafka had never called a play, at any level. Kafka, in his NFL debut season as a play-caller, received high marks — Daniel Jones had a career year — and the league noticed, as four teams brought him in for head-coach interviews and he was a finalist in Arizona. The second year was a complete disaster for the offense. Daboll — far more hard-edged than Andy Reid, Kafka’s boss for five years with the Chiefs — searched for answers and took on a greater role with the offense.
“There’s no tension there,’’ general manager Joe Schoen said.
Daboll recently gave Kafka a promotion, adding assistant head coach to his job description. The Giants view Kafka, 36, as a rising coaching prospect in the league and are expecting him to be scooped up, sooner rather than later.
“Mike’s a really good coach, he’s a great teammate, he’s an asset around the building,’’ Schoen said this week at the NFL Scouting Combine. “He’s a young coach who’s been a coordinator for two years, and we elevated and gave him the new title because we’re going to continue to develop him as a head coach.
“Obviously there’s a lot of like for him around the league. He’s in demand, he was a finalist for two [head coach] jobs over the last couple of years and he’s earned it. He’s a really good coach who’s got a bright future, and he’s an asset to the organization.’’
Schoen frequently refers to Kafka as “a great teammate,’’ an interesting choice of words considering how things went down with Martindale.
Following the season, Daboll would not commit to Kafka continuing to call the plays in 2024. This lack of an immediate proclamation should not come as a surprise. Daboll needs to evaluate the entire operation, and that takes time. Schoen was pleased Daboll initially handed those responsibilities to Kafka, freeing up the firsttime head coach to get his head out from under a laminated play sheet, allowing him to see the entire field and concentrate on the entire game.
“I’m never gonna tell him what to do,’’ Schoen said. “That’s his world. I’ll be a sounding board and give him advice, but I’m never gonna tell him what to do as a coach. If he decided he ever wanted to [give up the play-calling], that’s up to him.’’
There’s a good chance that when it comes time to make a decision, Kafka is retained as the play-caller. The Giants remain high on him.