The New York Giants have a long road ahead of them to achieve competency, but they are on the right track after making several fantastic offensive coaching hires.
Starting with new head coach Brian Daboll, the Giants are preparing to modernize their offense with up-to-date analytics and a focus on extrapolating players’ strengths. In recent years, the Giants relied on older systems, specifically under Jason Garrett, to help overhaul an ailing unit.
Unfortunately, the demise of their offensive line and poor concepts led to another bottom-of-the-barrel offense.
However, after Daboll produced the 3rd ranked offense in football this past season, playing an instrumental part in the development of quarterback Josh Allen, there is hope that Big Blue can find success with Daniel Jones at the helm.
Daboll’s experience developing Allen will prove to be essential in creating relationships with offensive players and Jones reaching his potential. The former 6th overall pick in 2019 has struggled to find his groove in the NFL, experiencing several different offensive coordinators and head coaches during his tenure.
Jones had his best season in his rookie year, scoring 24 touchdown passes but struggling with fumbles and turnovers. Fortunately, Daboll has worked with a quarterback that endured similar struggles.
When Allen was a rookie in 2018, he threw 12 interceptions and fumbled eight times. The year after (2019), he fumbled the ball 14 times, struggling with a sub-60% completion percentage before taking a stratospheric jump in 2020.
Jones was never able to take the jump in year three, but he will target 2022 as a potential breakout campaign with phenomenal coaches surrounding him. In fact, Jones has reached out to Allen to pick his brain.
“Going forward I plan to try to get in touch with him,” Jones told the New York Post.
“I think just kind of general stuff on how they made it work so well… How he went about building that relationship, and how he learned best and just made it work.”
The Giants made another great hire:
According to Ian Rapoport and Mike Garofolo of NFL Network, the Giants elected to hire Kansas City Chiefs QB coach and passing game coordinator Mike Kafka on Thursday.
Kafka has spent the last four seasons with Kansas City, initially joining as an offensive quality control coach before being promoted. The Chiefs drafted Patrick Mahomes that very same here, with Kafka eventually becoming his specific position coach.
From learning under Andy Reid to devising game plans for the Chiefs’ offense, Kafka has had every opportunity to learn the role of an offensive coordinator. Whether or not he will call plays under Daboll is yet to be seen, but there’s no question he’s more than capable.
In fact, when the Eagles fired Doug Peterson in 2020, they were intrigued by Kafka as a potential head coaching option. Obviously, they went in another direction, which has led him to the New York Giants, an opportunity for a promotion and the ability to run his own offense.
Having a dynamic duo in Kafka and Daboll will present Daniel Jones with phenomenal coaching support. In previous years, he’s had a wildly inconsistent group of position coaches and significant turnover around him.
However, it all starts with the offensive line and new position coach Bobby Johnson. The expectation is that new general manager Joe Schoen will be extremely active in the draft regarding OL talent and bolstering the unit.
With the 5th and 7th overall pick in the draft, they have a great opportunity to lock down a bookend tackle to pair with Andrew Thomas. Jones would likely be ecstatic about having a right tackle not named Nate Solder.