After a rough start to the offseason, things are shaping up for the Jacksonville Jaguars. New head coach Liam Coen wasted no time putting his staff together and acquired a massive chess piece when he hired Grant Udinski as his offensive coordinator. But as much progress as the Jags have made the past few days, they still have one big box left in their to-do list: Hire a general manager.
Jacksonville must've thought the news cycle was a bit slow and wanted to shake things up, so they announced the Udinski hire late at night, nearly at midnight ET. It's also worth noting that the signing took place just hours after Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase removed his name from consideration for the job.
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) February 6, 2025
Scheelhaasee was seen as the favorite to fill the Jaguars offensive coordinator vacancy, but once he dropped out, they quickly pivoted to Udinski. It's understandable, as Coen surely wants to round out his coaching staff as soon as possible.
Circling back to Udinski, the Houston Texans, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also considered him for their respective offensive coordinator openings. So it's fair to say the Jags weren't the only team who thought he was a viable candidate.
What exactly are the Jaguars getting in Grant Udinski?
Grant Udinski is a rising star in coaching cycles. He started as a graduate assistant at Baylor in 2019 and made the leap to the pros the following year as a member of Matt Rhule's staff with the Carolina Panthers.
After two years in Carolina, Udinski bolted for the Minnesota Vikings, where he was an assistant to head coach Kevin O'Connell and special projects. In 2023, he got assistant quarterbacks coach to his responsibilities, and one year later, he also became the assistant offensive coordinator. Simply put, he was quickly moving up the ranks and his resume speaks for itself.
After the Jaguars announced that they had hired Udinski, Liam Coen explained his reasoning for making him the offensive coordinator. "Grant will bring a wealth of knowledge, energy and a winning mindset to help lead our offense here in Jacksonville," the head coach said via the team's official website. "He is a rising star in this league that has been a pillar of success for the Vikings and we can't wait to have him lead our offense."
Coen isn't wrong.
What's next for the Jaguars after hiring Grant Udinski?
Liam Coen is close to filling his staff. One of their remaining vacancies is offensive line coach, but that should be taken care of sooner rather than later. On the other hand, the Jacksonville Jaguars have yet to hire a general manager after dismissing Trent Baalke. They hadn't started the search until recently but are putting in the work to get it done in the upcoming weeks.
For the general manager vacancy, the Jags asked for permission to interview a handful of candidates: New York Giants general manager Brandon Brown, Los Angeles Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander, Chicago Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham, Cincinnati Bengals senior personnel executive Trey Brown, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant general manager Mike Greenberg.
Not long after, Jacksonville put in a request to meet with Los Angeles Rams executive James Gladstone while Greenberg withdrew from consideration.
The team's brass will be sorting out candidates in the upcoming days, and Pro Football Hall-of-Fame Tony Boselli, the new Jaguars executive vice president of football operations, will be assisting with the process.
After a hectic start to the offseason, things are falling into place for the Jaguars. They just need to make sure they hire the correct general manager. They know firsthand how things can get if they don't have the right person in place.