Jaguars Hire Vikings' Grant Udinski as OC

The Jacksonville Jaguars have their offensive coordinator, with the team announcing the hire of Minnesota Vikings assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski on Wednesday evening.

After filling the defensive coordinator role last week with Anthony Campanile and retaining special teams coordinator Heath Farwell, the offensive coordinator role was the Jaguars' next major piece to find on the coaching staff.

“Grant will bring a wealth of knowledge, energy and a winning mindset to help lead our offense here in Jacksonville,” Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said in a statement.  “He is a rising star in this league that has been a pillar of success for the Vikings organization and we can’t wait to have him lead our offense.” 

Udinski has been a popular name during this year's coaching cycle. He has drawn interest from the Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans, and New England Patriots for offensive coordinator vacancies, which is a rapid rise for the 28-year-old assistant who has been in the NFL since 2020.

Udinski got his break into the NFL as an assistant on Matt Rhule's staff with the Carolina Panthers in 2020 before joining Kevin O'Connell's staff with the Vikings in 2022 as assistant to the head coach/special projects.

In 2023, Udinski was promoted to assistant quarterbacks coach and he has since worked closely with the likes of Kirk Cousins, Sam Darnold, Josh Dobbs, and Nick Mullens. The Vikings have created the perfect atmosphere for quarterback development, which obviously would be ideal for the Jaguars to attempt to mirror under Coen.

"Udinski also served as assistant quarterbacks coach in 2023 and previously served as the assistant to the head coach/special projects in 2022. In his first season as assistant quarterbacks coach, he helped navigate the 2023 season with four different starting quarterbacks, the most in franchise history, due to a season-ending injury to QB Kirk Cousins in Week 8," the Jaguars said in a release.

"In addition to Cousins, Udinski assisted in preparing rookie Jaren Hall, Joshua Dobbs and Nick Mullens, who each started multiple games for the Vikings throughout the season. Minnesota won three consecutive games with a different starting quarterback in Weeks 8-10 (Cousins, Hall and Dobbs) and finished the season fifth in the league in passing yards per game (256.4)."

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