Jaguars Hire Vikings Rising Assistant as New Offensive Coordinator

The Minnesota Vikings had a few coaches on their staff in 2024 that many around the league were expecting to be legitimate candidates for a multitude of job openings throughout the NFL this offseason.

Defensive coordinator Brian Flores, for example, deserves another head coaching opportunity. It’s just a matter of time before QB coach Josh McCown gets an offensive coordinator (maybe even a head coach) offer. But there was one 29-year-old MN Vikings assistant coach, Grant Udinski, who most thought was safe in Eagan for at least one more season.

Minnesota Vikings assistant Grant Udinski hired as Jaguars offensive coordinator

Late Wednesday night, however, that assumption proved untrue. While it appears both Flores and McCown will return in 2025, Udinski will not. He will be in Jacksonville, drawing up schemes and assisting Jaguars head coach Liam Coen as a first-year offensive coordinator, the team announced on social media.

Grant Udinski has been with the Minnesota Vikings since 2022, when he was hired as “Assistant to the Head Coach”, where he quickly became KOC’s right hand man. Before the 2023 season, Udinski was promoted to assistant QB coach and “chief of special projects”.

Last year, Udinski played a major role in Sam Darnold’s turnaround with the MN Vikings. He also received high praise for his work with Josh Dobbs and Nick Mullens, when both QBs were thrust into action two seasons ago, after Kirk Cousins went down with his Achilles tear.

What are the Vikings losing in Udinski?

Grant Udinski got his first NFL gig with the Carolina Panthers, late during the 2019 season. He came to the NFL via Baylor, where he coaches as a graduate assistant. Before he began his career as a football coach, the Doylestown, PA native was a defensive end at Towson from 2016-2018.

In his final season, Grant Udinski finished with 28 tackles and 4.5 sacks. He was also named a 2018 CoSIDA Academic First Team All-American. Now, just seven short years later, the Minnesota Vikings assistant coach seems to be blossoming into one of the most sought-after young offensive coaches in the NFL.