He returned with a flashy new title and a financial boost commensurate with his promotion.
There was speculation that Mike Kafka would be released by Brian Daboll after just two years, but the reality is that he will be the only Giants coordinator on Daboll’s original staff returning in 2024. There was found.
“I love working with Daveth and I love working for Daveth,” Kafka said Monday as players arrived at the team facility for the start of their offseason training program. . “It was a collaborative process. Were we able to get all the results we wanted every day? Of course we want to win every match, but sometimes that doesn’t happen. We go through the ups and downs of the season, but we’re all competitive and we all want to win. That’s what I love about him.”
After the 2022 season, Kafka was called up by four teams to interview for head coaching positions as the Giants were on the verge of winning and making the playoffs for the first time since 2011.
Kafka’s first year as offensive coordinator was certainly encouraging as Daboll entrusted him with play-calling duties.
The Giants slumped to 6-11 in 2023, and their offense ranked 30th in the NFL at 15.6 points per game.
Still, Kafka interviewed to become the Seahawks’ head coach.
During a turbulent period last season, Daboll at times took over offensive play-calling duties, but Kafka remained in that role for the rest of the season.
“I don’t know if that was out there,” Kafka said. “All I know is last year was last year. There’s a lot of things we need to improve on, from coaches, players, everyone. We need to improve. So I’m not going to go back too far. We put that in the rearview mirror. We learned from it and grew from it.”
There is no word yet from Daboll whether he will take on the role in this season’s play himself or hand it back to Kafka.
“Well, every year is different. We have to go through an evaluation process, and this year is no exception,” Kafka said, declining to answer a question asking whether he still wanted to perform the play.
Whether he’s dictating plays or not, Kafka not only returns as offensive coordinator, he was also named assistant head coach.
Mr. Daboll has already included Mr. Kafka, 36, in several organizational, logistics and medical meetings that he has not been invited to attend in the past two years.
“It’s certainly an honor to receive that title,” Kafka said. “I don’t take it lightly.”
“It’s really great to be part of the backbone of how we do this.”
