Mike Kafka to call Giants’ plays in Week 1

Mike Kafka‘s run of calling Giants plays will not stop after the preseason. The team will keep its young offensive coordinator in this role to start the year, Brian Daboll told reporters Monday morning.

The Giants hired Daboll after his run as the Bills’ play-caller led to Josh Allen rising to superstar status. Kafka, 35, received an extensive look calling plays this summer, but Daboll taking the reins would not have been surprising. Kafka, the previous Chiefs quarterbacks coach, taking over to start the regular season marks an unexpected development.

This will be new territory for Kafka, who was behind Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy in Kansas City. Daboll has called plays for multiple teams, though his Bills OC work catapulted him into position to become the Giants’ head coach. He will start the season as a CEO-type leader in New York.

Although Daboll and GM Joe Schoen are leading a Giants rebuild, this marks a seminal season for two Dave Gettleman-era cornerstones. Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley are going into contract years. The team’s play-caller will do plenty to determine how New York’s starting quarterback and running back’s seasons go. That responsibility will fall on Kafka, who was Patrick Mahomes‘ position coach during the former MVP’s first four seasons.