Grant Udinski earns huge praise from GM who spoiled Jaguars' season

If the Jacksonville Jaguars do indeed fulfill their destiny as the Rams Southeast under the regime of Liam Coen and James Gladstone, their coaching staff and front office could become something of a revolving door.

Coen is one of several head coaches across the NFL who hails from the Sean McVay tree. Gladstone got his start in LA's front office under Les Snead and is crushing it in Jacksonville as GM so far, but even before Gladstone, Brad Holmes took the Lions GM job and built Detroit into a juggernaut.

At least as far as the coaching side of this goes, Jags offensive coordinator Grant Udinski could very well be in line as the next man to land a head coaching gig.

It sure sounded like Udinski made waves on the interview circuit this offseason even before the NFL Scouting Combine kicked off. However, the Udinski hype has gone to another level.

Bills GM Brandon Beane was blown away by Jaguars OC Grant Udinski's head coaching interview

The team that defeated the Jags in the playoffs, the Buffalo Bills, got a firsthand look at Udinski once they decided to move off long-tenured coach Sean McDermott.

Despite opting to hire Buffalo's incumbent offensive coordinator Joe Brady as an internal promotion in the end, Bills GM Brandon Beane revealed in Indianapolis on Tuesday just how impressive the 30-year-old wunderkind Udinski was.

"Grant did a great job. Very smart, very cerebral. For a 30-year-old, had thought of things that I hadn't thought of as a 30-year-old...I learned a lot in each of the interviews, but he's a bright mind. He's been around some bright people. Sometimes, people that are very bright and, quite frankly smarter than me, sometimes they can be arrogant. I didn't feel that. I felt a guy that was comfortable in his skin, had a well thought-out plan. [...] I told him, I said, 'I'd love to stay in touch with you, and help you in any way I can.' But i think if he gets the right opportunity, at the right spot, at the right time, I think he'll be successful."

Speaking of the Rams and the McVay coaching tree that's bound to expand in the coming years, Udinski and newly promoted LA offensive coordinator Nathan Scheelhaase should be among the top two head coaching candidates in 2027.

If not for the Bills' strong familiarity with Brady, Udinski or Scheelhaase could've easily been hired in Buffalo. Heck, I'm shocked the Cleveland Browns went for an elder statesman in Todd Monken over a brilliant, ascending, offensive-minded 30-something like Udinski or Scheelhaase.

This was a strange offseason in which 10 head coaching vacancies popped open. It actually speaks to Beane's point about Udinski being mature beyond his years to be disciplined and not jump at the first team who really wanted him.

Not to say that it was 100% certain Udinski could've had one of these jobs. I find it hard to believe, though, that both he and Scheelhaase were up for so many positions and didn't score any of them without outright rejecting at least one job offer.

Buffalo interviewed both Udinski and Scheelhaase, but played it safe with Brady in the end. Was it to appease Josh Allen? Did Beane choose the best man for the job? We'll all find out together soon enough.

In any event, you might be wondering why I've brought up Scheelhaase so much in this Udinski-centric article. Well, it's because McVay has proven that he can promote from within and keep his coaching staff humming. McVay routinely loses offensive and defensive coordinators, yet the Rams don't seem to skip a beat.

That's going to be the critical piece to what goes down in Jacksonville during Coen's tenure. Can he and Gladstone keep finding stellar replacements for their top assistants? Because Udinski will be a head coach very soon, as will defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile in all likelihood.

At least in Udinski's case, Beane's ringing endorsement seems to support that notion with little room for doubt.