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New Giants OC Mike Kafka says opportunity to call plays on Sunday ‘special’

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New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8 throws a pass over New England Patriots defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale (95) during the first half of a preseason NFL football game Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, in Foxborough, Mass.
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

It will be a special moment for Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka when the team’s offense takes the field on Sunday in Nashville. It will be Kafka calling the plays from high above the field in Week 1 for New York, a task that new head coach Brian Daboll has bestowed on him. 

Kafka had been getting the chance to call plays since the spring and during the preseason, but was given the task for the season opener this week by Daboll. 

“It’s a special opportunity. I definitely don’t take that for granted,” Kafka said on Wednesday during his media availability. “Any opportunity you can to call plays in the National Football League is an honor. I’m working to put my best foot forward and give our guys the best opportunity to be successful.” 

The possibility had always been on the table since Daboll began interviewing people for the position of offensive coordinator, a job that the Giants head coach held in Buffalo. Kafka was hired off the Kansas City Cheifs coaching staff. 

The former NFL quarterback has worked from the booth ] all preseason and will continue to do so on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. Kafka said that it gives him a different perspective and the ability to see the game in a unique way. 

He’ll also have Daboll to lean on as well as a sounding board should he need some help along the way. During his Tuesday press conference at the Giants’ facility in East Rutherford, Daboll said that you don’t want too many people in your ear and it makes the job that much more tough during a series. 

Kafka said he would be open to any helpful input. 

“I think it’s going to be collaborative,” Kafka said. “When you are in the flow of a game, I think everyone has input and ideas. I welcome that, I love that. The best part of building that staff was all the ideas and everyone’s vision of the game. Obviously, I’ve got to have a clear picture of what I’m feeling and what I’m seeing out there but I’m always going to rely on the eyes of my staff and the coaches out there.”

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Week 1 will be the first of many tests for the Giants’ offense this season as the franchise embarks on the first year of a rebuild under general manager Joe Schoen and Daboll. It also remains a crucial year for the likes of Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley, who are hoping to prove enough to stick around East Rutherford past this season.

“Daniel has continued every single day, he’s gotten better,” Kafka said. “I love his approach, I love his work that he puts in before practice, after practice. I mean he’s a guy that you look at and that’s how it’s supposed to be done.”