Two summers ago, rumors pointing to Brian Daboll — the Bills’ play-caller for four years — considering a CEO role in his first year as Giants HC. That came to fruition, and Daboll kept OC Mike Kafka holding the play sheet for most of the past two seasons.
Rumors of a change have persisted this offseason, however. As we move closer to training camp, it looks all but confirmed the Giants will feature a new play-caller this season.
After calling plays at OTAs — for what that’s worth — Daboll continued to do so at minicamp. A Kafka shift to a non-play-calling OC is expected to continue into the regular season, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com notes.
Considering how last season went, Daboll preferring to have full control makes sense. It certainly would not be out of the question for the Giants to consider moving on; they have not employed a coach into a fourth season since Tom Coughlin.
Daboll also came under fire for his temper last season, with a highly publicized feud with DC Don Martindale — one producing an explosive final act in the HC’s office — ending his New York stay after two seasons.
Daboll also has a proven track record calling plays, having been at the controls in Buffalo when Josh Allen morphed from raw prospect to superstar. That role landed him the Giants’ HC job in 2022.
With last year’s 6-11 showing throwing the Giants off course after Daboll’s Coach of the Year campaign, the third-year leader mentioned he would consider making this change. Daboll also called plays for the Chiefs, Browns and Dolphins during three prior OC stints, though his Bills work stands out.
Daboll’s dustups with Martindale included rumors of the DC and assistant Drew Wilkins going rogue. Additionally, Raanan indicates Daboll confronted Martindale during the Giants’ Week 13 bye.
Daboll allegedly yelled, “So, you think I’m a clown?” at Martindale from a doorway while the latter was running a defensive meeting. Daboll’s tirades grew tiresome for the staff, per Raanan, who notes some staffers viewed the fiery HC as having stopped listening to his assistants. Martindale did not contact Daboll or Schoen after cursing out Daboll in his office. Martindale is now the Michigan DC.
Kafka certainly deserved praise for coaxing a quality season from Daniel Jones in 2022, doing so when the Giants featured Saquon Barkley and little else in terms of weaponry. That season ending in the divisional round launched Kafka onto the HC radar.
Kafka received more HC interest this year, interviewing with the Seahawks and Titans. After the Seahawks hired Mike Macdonald, the Giants blocked Kafka from interviewing for their OC position. Big Blue then gave Kafka a snazzier title, moving him to assistant head coach.
Daboll’s feud with Martindale aside, an early-offseason report noted most of the HC’s anger was directed at Kafka last season. That set the table for this change, and it is also safe to say Kafka is on shaky ground in New York.
With Martindale gone, the Daboll-Kafka relationship will surely be monitored closely as the year progresses.
