EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Mike Kafka said on Wednesday during his first press conference as interim head coach of the New York Giants that he will continue to call offensive plays. Kafka, in his fourth season with the Giants, has had that responsibility this year and in three of those four seasons.
Kafka, promoted to interim head coach from offensive coordinator this week after the firing of Brian Daboll, said that tight ends coach Tim Kelly will move into the role of offensive coordinator. Kelly was offensive coordinator of the Houston Texans from 2019-2021 and offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans in 2023. He has been tight ends coach for the Giants the past two seasons.
“Really smart coach, he’ll help us tie in the run game [and] the pass game, does a great job with a lot of good experiences to bank on,” Kafka said.
In choosing Kelly, Kafka bypasses quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney, a Daboll protege, and wide receivers coach Mike Groh, who was offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018 and 2019.
Kafka know that both calling plays and managing a game will be a new challenge.
“We have a great team upstairs with Ty [Siam] and Cade [Knox] doing a great job communicating,” Kafka said.
Kafka said he does not anticipate any other immediate changes to the staff.
“Right now, no,” he said. “I have a lot of trust in in our group being around these guys for the last several years.”
Here are more takeaways from Kafka’s pre-practice availability.
Acknowledging Daboll
The ex-Giants coach hired Kafka in 2022. Since that time, Kafka has received interviews for head-coaching jbos each offseason, even the last two years after the Giants had losing records. Kafka acknowledged Daboll as “a friend.”
“This is a this is a league of incredibly difficult situations, decisions and I just have the utmost respect for Dabs and what he’s done for me not only as a friend but as a coach, giving me an opportunity here to be an offensive coordinator,” Kafka said. “And so my thoughts are with with him and his family and I just appreciate the things he’s done for me and I’ve learned a lot from him.
“There’s a human element to him, too. So, I’m very sensitive to that and I wish him nothing but the best and we’ll continue to stay in touch with him because he’s a great friend of mine.”
Choosing Jameis over Russ
Kafka acknowledged the report from earlier Wednesday that Jameis Winston would bypass Russell Wilson on the quarterback depth chart and would start Sunday against the Green Bay Packers if Jaxson Dart has not cleared the concussion protocol.
Dart, incidentally, was not seen on the practice field on Wednesday during the limited media viewing period.
“He’ll do a great job,” Kafka said of Winston, who has not taken a snap this season. “I have a lot of confidence in Jameis.
“He’s a great leader. He has a lot of production in this league and I think he’s going to do a great job leading that group.”
‘The most important thing’
Lest anyone has forgotten, the Giants have a game to play on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. Kafka tried to turn the focus to that.
“I think our players are pros,” Kafka said. “My job is to get them in the best position to be successful and work through the week here and continue to make adjustments with the staff as we’re continuing to prep for Green Bay, which is the most important thing.
“Making sure we dot our I’s, cross our T’s put together a great plan for the players because at the end of the day those are the guys that have been on my mind the last 48 hours
Confidence in Shane Bowen
Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen still has a job despite the under-performance of his unit. Kafka had little choice but to express confidence in Bowen.
“We’ve met several times the past couple days. Get on the same page, the communication, talk about some of the minor tweaks we would do to make it more efficient and clean up some communication stuff.
“That’s probably the biggest thing is me getting on the same page with them. Up until this point I haven’t been privileged to those [defensive] conversations.”
‘Great plan’ for Dart
With Dart having suffered a concussion last week, the topic of protecting the rookie quarterback — sometimes from himself — has been a big topic recently.
“Having a great plan in unison with Coach Kelly and our offensive staff, putting together that play, that way when he is ready to go we have a great plan to keep him healthy.”
Tweaks, not major changes
Kafka said there will be tweaks to how things are done, but not an overhaul.
“I stressed to the players we’re not just going to change stuff to change it for no reason,” Kafka said. “We’re going to have a plan and an intent … There will be some minor tweaks and some little things for the players that they’ll need to be flexible on.”
Kafka has interviewed for a number of head-coaching jobs in recent years, so it is obviously a question he has considered.
“I think I think the best the best head coaches I’ve been around are guys that are are confident, poised, have a direction, have a plan, and then go execute the plan,” Kafka said. “If something goes different then you go back and you adjust.
“Holding guys accountable to the highest standard. If it’s not right, fix it. Don’t wait. let things just kind of trickle and snowball, right? So, you want to be able to do that. Guys that empower players to be their best. Those are things that I’ve learned over my past that I think are great qualities as a head coach.”
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