Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka
MIKE KAFKA: Quick shoutout to my son Jackson. He had his sixth birthday a couple weeks back, so Happy Birthday, Jackson. With that, we'll get rolling.
Q: How many star recruit is he?
MIKE KAFKA: He's getting there. He's a good little player. He plays all kind of sports. He's a good little player. Everything. Hockey. He loves playing goalie. Football, receiver, defensive back. He had a pick-six the other day in flag football. He is doing well.
Q: Were you there to see it?
MIKE KAFKA: I was. I am helping coach. I am an assistant coach.
Q. Mike, how is Drew Lock progressing in the offense?
MIKE KAFKA: Drew is doing a really nice job. You can see him getting a little bit more comfortable each and every day with just the verbiage, the command, out there processing, executing. You're seeing each day he's getting a little bit better.
It's been nice to see because he's a veteran guy. He's been in a couple different systems. He's taking that next step.
Q. When you have a guy that's been in multiple systems, how do you help them from not saying, okay, we called it this in that system and we call it this, that, and just keep them straight?
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, you try to get them to use those prior experiences and take the good that he's had and some of the plays he's really comfortable with. It's just about creating dialogue and communication with stuff that he likes, stuff that we do, stuff he's done in the past, and just make it really collaborative and working together with that.
Q. Talk about the development of Malik Nabers. How is he fitting into your system?
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, Malik is doing a nice job. He is a rookie, so he is right on schedule. He's learning our system, learning how we do things, how we practice, and he's doing a really nice job. He's making plays when his opportunities are becoming available, so I'm happy where he is.
Q. Anything really standing out about him that was maybe a little bit of a surprise to you?
MIKE KAFKA: He has a great work ethic. That's something we saw in college and something we studied and watched. He's a playmaker. Again, we're in spring and he's doing a nice job right now getting acclimated to being a pro and learning what he has to do to be in our offense.
Q. How big of a jump do you think the wide receiver group as a whole has made this off-season?
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, it's really coming together quite nicely. Coach (Mike) Groh has done a really nice job with those guys developing them and getting them caught up. Cade Knox is working in the receiver room there. He does a nice job of complementing Coach Groh and putting the drills together.
As a room, they've worked really well together and they are continuing to grow together. Got some really young guys who are really energetic and taking that leadership role. I think you're seeing a guy like Wan'Dale (Robinson), (Darius) Slayton, guys that have been playing for football for us, Isaiah Hodgins. Those guys that played a lot for this group, you're seeing them take that leadership role.
Q. What have you seen from Tommy DeVito this spring?
MIKE KAFKA: Tommy is doing a nice job, too. His second year, so now – the first time is kind of like a fire drill, you know, so second year around he's hearing it, he is more comfortable, he's able to really describe all those little details that we talk about all spring.
Last year, he kind of got thrown into the fire a little bit in the season, and he did really well last year in those games and you're seeing him take that next step now.
Q. What's your role in practice when you're not calling plays?
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, I'm just complementary to Dabs, helping out with offensive drills. You'll see me walking around and being an asset to the coaches and the players wherever I can. Whether it's fundamentals, technique, whether it's thoughts and ideas on routes or protections, stuff like that.
So doing whatever I can to complement those guys.
Q. What's the spring been like for you? Been a little bit of shift there in what your responsibilities are. How is that for you on a day to day basis?
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, every year brings new opportunities, and so I'm taking this as an opportunity just to continue to grow as a coach and be, again, an asset to those coaches and players.
Q. Play to play, how do you complement what Daboll is doing?
MIKE KAFKA: There is a lot of things on a given play you can look at and detail up. I'm always looking to have some feedback with the players, get their interactions on how they saw the play, and then give my feedback.
Then we talk about it on the field and we talk about it in the meeting room and get those things cleaned up.
Q. How do you feel about not calling plays?
MIKE KAFKA: I think Dabs hasn't really made a final call on that yet. We are going through the spring right now. It's kind of too early to tell. Whatever decision he goes with, I fully support.
Q. How do you think that will affect your head coaching prospects?
MIKE KAFKA: I'm not worried about that kind of stuff right now. We're in the spring and we have so much stuff that we have to improve as an offense fundamentally, technique-wise. That's really where my focus is at.
Q. Usually, you know, he's an offensive coordinator who is also the playcaller; he is an offensive coordinator who is not the playcaller. If you are the offensive coordinator who's not the playcaller, is that a fulfilling thing after having done that for two years?
MIKE KAFKA: I'll kind of lean back on my experience in Kansas City a little bit where Coach Reid is the primary play caller, and then the coordinators that were under him, whether it's Eric Bieniemy, Matt Nagy, like those guys are super involved. So I have that experience of being in a system like that.
It's pretty typical around the league of head coaches doing that. So whatever decision Dabs wants to go with, I fully support.
Q. And you feel you will be super involved if you are not the playcaller?
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, absolutely. It's collaborative. From day one it's been that way.
Q. Do you make up the game plan though and Dabs would call the plays?
MIKE KAFKA: No. We would be working together. So the way Dabs would handle it -- and this could change -- but you kind of piece it out to certain guys in the group. We would all talk through those certain areas, whether it's third down, red zone, guys would detail out what their thoughts were, and we would put it together as an offensive staff.
We would put it together and make sure it all matched and we felt good about that plan versus that specific defense.
Q. With Wan'Dale, you mentioned the leadership. Beyond the leadership, how much do you see him making a jump on the field in terms of his production?
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, again, that's a great question. I think he's right where he's supposed to be right now in spring. Every day he's going to continue to take a step. He's taken a step with his leadership.
Last year he dealt with some injuries. Got in midway through the season and had some production. Wan'Dale is one of those guys we know and love and got to get him the ball.
Q. With Evan Neal, can you count on him to be there any time?
MIKE KAFKA: Absolutely I can count on Evan Neal. He's going through his rehab process and I know he's eager to get out there. All those meetings in the O-line room, he's asking great questions and really into it and trying to get better. The medical side of it, our staff is going to take care of him and make sure he's on schedule.
Whenever he's ready to go, he'll be ready to go.
Q. So he is engaged with you and his teammates in that setting in the room?
MIKE KAFKA: Absolutely.
Q. How different is what you're asking the offensive line to do this year versus last year with a new O-line coach and maybe what you've tinkered within the offensive system?
MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, so Carm (Bricillo), you know, getting everyone on the same page from an offensive standpoint with our new coaches, with our new players, whether they're veterans, whether they're rookies, is always part of the this process, right, in the spring.
Carm has done a really good job of, one, being installing and cleaning up some of the detail work they need to do individually as a player. From a schematic standpoint, there is certain language we've cleaned you up and talked about just to make it more streamlined.
I think Carm is also going to put his flavor on it. That is what makes him special as a coach. Put his own flavor and his own fingerprint on that offensive line.
He's done a really nice job. Happy where they're at.
