Final Vikings Coach on Track to Return in 2025
The Minnesota Vikings lost assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski a couple of weeks ago to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Udinski will serve as the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator in 2025.
Final Vikings Coach on Track to Return in 2025
And that’s probably it for the Vikings coach movement on the 2025 carousel.
Why? The New Orleans Saints hired Brandon Staley as their next defensive coordinator late last week. Vikings defensive passing game coordinator Daronte Jones interviewed for the position when Kellen Moore earned the Saints’ head coaching job after Super Bowl LIX, and some believed Jones could earn the promotion. But he’ll have to wait; the job belongs to Staley, formerly of Los Angeles Chargers head coaching notoriety.
NFL Network‘s Ian Rapoport tweeted Friday, “The Saints are hiring former Chargers coach Brandon Staley as the defensive coordinator for coach Kellen Moore, per The Insiders. Staley was an assistant this year with the 49ers, and before LAC, he burst onto the scene as a Rams DC. Now, lands in NO.”
Jones, in theory, could still interview and grab a different job a step below defensive coordinator elsewhere, but that probably would’ve happened by now. All signs point to his return with the Vikings.
Jones, an up-and-comer for a DC gig, also spoke with the Bears and Jaguars this cycle about a promotion, but those clubs hired other options.
Vikings coaches Brian Flores (defensive coordinator) and Josh McCown (quarterbacks coach) also interviewed around the league but did not fetch promotions and will return to the Twin Cities in 2025.
Here’s Jones’ resume since the start of 2015:
Wisconsin (2015)
Defensive backs coach
Miami Dolphins (2016–2017)
Assistant defensive backs coach
Cincinnati Bengals (2018–2019)
Cornerbacks coach
Minnesota Vikings (2020)
Defensive backs coach
LSU (2021)
Defensive coordinator
Minnesota Vikings (2022-present)
Defensive backs coach (2022)
Defensive pass game coordinator (2023-)
Jones was nominated as defensive coordinator at the Senior Bowl in 2024, helping him gain national exposure on a visible stage. The maneuver worked. Truth be told, he’s probably due for a promotion. Some even speculated that he could take over as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator if the aforementioned Flores accepted a head coaching job.
Next offseason is shaping up to be rather eventful per coach movement for the Vikings. Jones, Flores, McCown, and perhaps Keenan McCardell could depart.
Jones will turn 47 in November.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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