In light of the success the Jacksonville Jaguars had in the regular season, defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile and Grant Udinski were dubbed names to watch in the coaching cycle. However, the time has come, and neither has gotten much interest.
This is somewhat understandable when you take into account that Udinski and Campanile have been on the job for just one season. That said, you would think that at least a few teams would be doing due diligence to see just how much of a role they played in the Jags' turnaround, but that hasn't been the case.
The good news is that there appears to be a legitimate reason why Udinski or Campanile haven't gotten any interview requests, and there's a chance that will change after the Wild Card of the Playoffs.
Teams may wait until after the Wild Card round to interview Jaguars coaches
Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports that teams have an understanding not to officially request interviews with candidates on playoff teams. Here's the skinny.
"According to high-ranking individuals on multiple teams as well as coaching agents, there appears to be an understanding with the majority of teams looking for head coaches to not officially request candidates on wild-card teams until after this week's games have been played," Jones wrote.
This most definitely explains the dearth of interest not only in Udinksi or Campanile, but also in defensive coordinator Jesse Minter (Los Angeles Chargers), defensive coordinator Matt Burke (Green Bay Packers), and offensive coordinator Joe Brady (Buffalo Bills).
It's also worth noting that teams appear to be taking their time in this coaching cycle, and many of team probably probably won't mind waiting until their preferred candidate is available. Moreover, clubs continue to make coaching changes, so even if the Jags make a deep playoff run, Campanile and Udinski may get a few interviews.
LIam Coen knows the Jaguars could lose one (or even both) of their coordinators
The downside of having so much success is that other teams will try to hire away your coordinators. Liam Coen is well aware of this reality but understands that it comes with the territory and would be thrilled to see either Grant Udinski or Anthony Campanile get opportunities.
"It's hard to lose coaches, so I saw Sean [McVay] do it every single year," McVay told the local media after the win against the Tennessee Titans in the finale (6:20 mark). "But it is what you want right at the end of the day. You do want to continue to grow the game, and you want to surround yourself with good people, and that's what we did try to do here."
Coen continued, "So this week's focus and mentality has to be on Buffalo and has to be on the job at hand, and then whatever happens after that, that's more so you want those opportunities, though, for guys on your staff, it's hard. It's not something you look forward to having to ever replace."
"But I was really fortunate to be in that situation last year, and you want to support those guys throughout that process, even though it might hurt you in the long run a little bit, it might hurt you in some ways, but that's why we're in this profession, is to help guys get opportunities to grow this game, to be able to do those things."
Of course, Coen would like to keep his staff together for as long as he could. However, that simply won't be feasible, especially if the Jags beat the Bills in the playoffs: If they do, both Grant Udinski and Anthony Campanile will see their stock surge at the best possible time.