Head coach Brian Daboll to call plays for Giants' offense - ESPN

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It was heading in this direction all spring and summer with New York Giants coach Brian Daboll leading the offensive meetings. On Tuesday, he confirmed for the first time that he'll handle playcalling duties as well.

«Yeah, I'm doing it,» Daboll said as his team prepared for its season opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

Daboll, who had offensive coordinator Mike Kafka calling the plays in each of his previous two seasons as a head coach, wouldn't get into specifics about why he made the decision. The Giants, however, went 6-11 last season and averaged just 11.8 points per game while starting 2-8.

Daboll pulled playcalling from Kafka on multiple occasions during the season, sources told ESPN.

Year 3 is an important season for Daboll and his regime. They had a successful first campaign — making the playoffs and winning a playoff game — but last season was a mess from start to finish, on and off the field.

Daboll came to New York known for his work with quarterbacks and his offensive playcalling. The Giants had the 18th-ranked offense while making the playoffs in 2022 and finished 29th in total offense last season.

There was a thought that Kafka could leave this offseason before the Giants promoted him to assistant head coach, but his involvement has visibly decreased this summer. Daboll wore the headset or used walkie-talkies while being the voice relaying the plays to the quarterback through training camp and the preseason. His fingerprints are all over the offense, even more than the previous two seasons when sources viewed it as Daboll's offense with Kafka calling the plays.

The pressure is now clearly on Daboll for it to succeed. No excuses.

«Yeah, I'm the head coach,» said Daboll, «so I'm