Who is Grant Udinski? Everything you must know about the new Jaguars OC

Like their search for a new head coach, the process of finding a new offensive coordinator wasn't as straightforward as the Jacksonville Jaguars would've liked. But at last, they managed to fill the vacancy when they hired former Minnesota Vikings assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski for the job.

Just hours after being shunned by Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase the Jags announced late on February 5 that they had hired Udinski as their offensive coordinator.

You may or may not see the time stamp but the Jaguars made the announcement at 10:25 p.m. Just minutes later, they followed it up with the picture below.

After Scheelhaase chose to stay in Los Angeles, Jacksonville had two options, pivot to the other two candidates they had already met with, Udinski or Tavita Pritchard, or put in new requests for interviews. The issue with the latter path was that it would take time, and the team's brass couldn't waste any more. After all, free agency is less than a month away, and head coach Liam Coen will surely want to have his full staff assembled by then.

Circling back to Udinski, he'll fill the void left by Press Taylor, who wasn't expected to stick around and ended up taking a job as the passing game coordinator for the Chicago Bears. This begs the question, why did the Jaguars think an assistant quarterbacks coach was ready to make the leap to offensive coordinator?

What should Jaguars fans know about Grant Udinksi?

If you ever compete in Jeopardy and the question pops up, Grant Udinski was born in January 1996 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania and began his coaching career at Baylor as a graduate assistant in 2019. He then joined Matt Rhule's staff with the Carolina Panthers as a coaching assistant the following year.

Udinski left Carolina for the Minnesota Vikings in 2022. Under Kevin O'Connell, he was an assistant to the head coach and special projects and was promoted to assistant quarterbacks coach in 2023.

You could make the case that going from assistant quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator was a bit odd, and a significant leap, but the truth is that Udinski also held assistant offensive coordinator responsibilities last year, so the move isn't nearly as steep as it looks. Moreover, the Jags weren't the only team who considered him for their opening.

Aside from Jacksonville, the Houston Texans, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also saw Udinski as a candidate for their offensive coordinator position. This is to say that the Jags didn't scrape the bottom of the barrel to find him. Heck, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell has previously spoken highly of him.

"He's got such an unbelievable understanding, from his background on offense and defense, and his sheer football stamina is something I really admire," O'Connell said of Udinski late in the 2024 season.

Several observers have stated that his absence will be felt in Minnesota. Udinski was mentoring quarterback J.J. McCarthy, and the quarterback had rave reviews of his position coach, pointing out that "you wouldn't know he's one of the smartest in the room."

Alec Lewis, who covers the Vikings for The Athletic, says that Udinski is a big loss for Minnesota, noting that he's been an integral part of O'Connell's process.

For his part, new Jaguars head coach Liam Coen is thrilled with Udinski's resume:

"Grant will bring a wealth of knowledge, energy and a winning mindset to help lead our offensve here in Jacksonville, Coen said via the team's official website.

At first sight, the hiring of Grant Udinski came out of nowhere, but his resume speaks for itself. Without a doubt, he's up to the task as the new offensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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