It’s been an ugly offseason for the New York Giants from an optics perspective, which is something the organization has recognized from the top down.
The moment Black Monday arrived, things began to spiral. Special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey, who reportedly wanted out, was fired. Then all hell broke loose when head coach Brian Daboll fired defensive assistants Drew and Kevin Wilkins.
Following their termination, defensive coordinator Wink Martindale exploded on Daboll and walked off the job. The two sides eventually agreed to “part ways.”
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka remained but not because he wanted to. After missing out on a pair of head coaching jobs, the 36-year-old still had a desire to leave East Rutherford and never look back — even if it meant taking a lateral position.
Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post broke down the entire situation during a recent appearance on Talkin’ Giants with Bobby Skinner and Justin Penik.
“My sources tell me (that) over the course of whatever it was, three or four months, yes, he wanted out,” Dunleavy said. “My own sources have told me that Mike Kafka wanted out; wanted a lateral position. (He) wanted to become an offensive coordinator somewhere else because he believes that Brian Daboll will be the offensive play-caller this year.
“So, a lateral move is not necessarily a lateral move because he believes he’s going to have his play-calling duties stripped. So, that makes offensive coordinator with play-calling duties somewhere else more than a lateral move — it makes it keeping his current job.”
There have been multiple reports suggesting Daboll stripped Kafka of play-calling duties at times last season only to eventually give them back. Dunleavy confirmed those reports.
The question then becomes: Why didn’t the Giants let Kafka go if they intend to reduce his role despite giving him the additional title of assistant head coach?
“It became kind of a PR/crisis management situation where the Giants didn’t like the optics of losing all three coordinators,” Dunleavy said. “With a promotion and a title change comes more money, which probably placates (Kafka).”
Dunleavy also notes that the Seattle Seahawks requesting permission to interview Kafka for their offensive coordinator position wasn’t a coincidence nor did it come out of the blue. Rather, he says, it likely stemmed from the obvious reality that Kafka wasn’t happy in New York and was willing to leave for the same job elsewhere.
Fearing additional public blowback, the Giants blocked that interview and gave Kafka an additional title to prevent him from leaving despite the likelihood that he would be stripped of his play-calling duties.
Dunleavy expects that Daboll will assume full play-calling duties in 2024.
