Promising Young Vikings Coach Gets Another Nibble
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown may not land head coaching jobs during this carousel, but assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski could be on the move.
Promising Young Vikings Coach Gets Another Nibble
Udinski, 28, is already a finalist for the Seattle Seahawks vacant offensive coordinator position, but now the New England Patriots are in the mix, too.
SI.com’s Albert Breer tweeted Tuesday, “The Patriots interviewed Vikings assistant OC/assistant QBs coach Grant Udinski for their offensive coordinator job yesterday, per sources. Udinski’s very valuable in Minnesota — and considered a rising star in the field. The 28-year-old is also a finalist for the Seattle OC job.”
Seattle recently fired 2024 offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, paving the way for interviews with candidates like Udinski. Udinski is in Year No. 3 as a Vikings coach, coming aboard at the dawn of the Kevin O’Connell era in 2022. The Patriots cleaned house this offseason — after doing the same thing one year ago — canning Jerod Mayo and hiring Mike Vrabel.
Udinski, in theory, could have been on tap to mentor rookie passer Drake Maye in New England, a quarterback linked to the Vikings’ pre-draft cycle ad nauseam. The final decision, though, was to snag Josh McDaniels for OC, as Breer later notes.
The young coach played college football at Davidson and Towson and became a coach shortly after, joining Baylor as a graduate assistant under Matt Rhule. Then, Rhule became the Carolina Panthers head coach for a couple of seasons while Udinski followed as an offensive assistant.
That led to O’Connell’s staff in Minnesota, where Udinski has remained. He’s credited with mentoring J.J. McCarthy this season as the rookie recovers from a torn meniscus.
O’Connell said about the up-and-coming coach months back via Star Tribune, “He’s got such an unbelievable understanding, from his background on offense and defense, and his sheer football stamina is something I really admire. I joke with him all the time, ‘Nobody loves football like you, man.’ His mind never really wanders from it.”
In November, Bleacher Report theorized multiple would-be applicants for the Bears’ 2025 offensive coordinator job, and Udinski grabbed a mention.
“Grant Udinski has elevated his status in coaching circles with the work he’s done during the last two seasons as the Minnesota Vikings’ assistant quarterbacks coach. Minnesota surprisingly finished 2023 as a top-five passing offense despite losing starting quarterback Kirk Cousins halfway through the season to a torn Achilles,” BR’s Alex Kay wrote. “Udinski helped get the most out of unheralded backups such as Nick Mullens and Joshua Dobbs, salvaging an otherwise lost campaign.”
New England’s offense ranked 27th per EPA/Play this season.
If Udinski does not earn an offensive coordinator job, he’d return to Minnesota and aid in J.J. McCarthy’s development.
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 MIN 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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