Game Preview: Brian Daboll returns as play-caller in preseason opener vs. Lions

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Brian Daboll made an unwavering and – thanks in part to his dedication to pilates – successful effort to lose weight this offseason, but when it came to his job he didn’t hesitate to add to an already full plate.

With a lengthy daily and weekly to-do list as the Giants’ head coach, Daboll this year has added play-calling to his duties. He called thousands of plays in his nine seasons as an NFL and collegiate offensive coordinator. But now he will do it while also fulfilling his head coaching responsibilities, including roster construction, practice and game planning, frequent meetings, game management, talking to the local and national media, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Daboll will debut in his new role Thursday night when the Giants host the Detroit Lions in their preseason opener in MetLife Stadium. Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka called the plays in Daboll’s first two seasons as coach. But as Daboll seeks to lead a revival for both the team and the offense after a disappointing 2023 season, he takes over a responsibility in which he has had so much previous success.

In 2021 the last of his four seasons as Buffalo’s coordinator, the Bills finished third in the NFL with 28.4 points a game and fifth with 381.9 yards a game. Quarterback Josh Allen was sixth in the league with a franchise-record 409 completions, seventh with 36 touchdown passes and eighth with 4,407 yards. Allen’s favorite target, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, caught 103 passes for 1,225 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Daboll was voted the AP’s NFL Assistant Coach of the Year in 2020 when Allen finished second in the NFL MVP voting after setting Buffalo single season franchise records with 4,544 yards, 37 touchdown passes, a 69.2 completion percentage and a 107.2 passer rating.

But how will he do with everything else a head coach must think about?

“Just calling the plays,” Daboll said this week. “Other than that, I have people that I rely on the last two years, communication-wise. That’s part of the process of going through all those things and seeing it. It’ll be good to do.”

When he was a coordinator, Daboll often conferred with his quarterback on the sideline when the defense was on the field. As a head coach, he ostensibly should watch the defense and special teams, in part to elude the perception he is coaching only half the team.

“That’s what these (three) preseason games are for,” Daboll said. “Go through that process. I think every team we play this year that has an offensive head coach besides one, they call the plays. I’ve talked to plenty of people. I just want to go through the process of the preseason, the mechanics of it, the communication with my staff, really in all three phases, plus the people that help me with game management. So that’s much needed.”

Daboll said fulfilling his other duties will be “pretty much all the same. Obviously, give the play to the quarterback, but everything else I foresee being very similar. But that’s why we’re doing it. That’s what the preseason is for.”

The group of head coaches who call their team’s offensive plays include San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan, Miami’s Mike McDaniel, Minnesota’s Kevin O’Connell, Green Bay’s Matt LeFleur, Dallas’ Mike McCarthy, the Rams’ Sean McVay, and perhaps most notably, three-time Super Bowl champion Andy Reid in Kansas City.

It’s unknown which coaches Daboll consulted with. But what did he learn from those he did speak to?

“It really wasn’t that much, to be honest with you,” he said. “I talked to them about how they manage the game, manage the defense when they’re talking to the offense, the kicking game, the decisions. But it’s very similar to how we’ve done it, other than you’re communicating to the quarterback during the offensive series.

“I have a great staff that you rely on in between series so you can communicate, stay on the line, when the defense is on the line. Be able to communicate with special teams with situations that come up. I have a separate line that I’m able to talk to the two guys that help me, (director of football data & innovation) Ty (Siam) and (offensive assistant/game manager) Cade (Knox). That’s what this is for. A little bit of trial and error, just to see how it goes here for the preseason, but I feel confident in it.”

Kafka remains integral to the planning and running practice and preparing for games. Daboll said he foresees Kafka remaining in the coaches’ booth.