The Minnesota Vikings have a great coaching staff, but they finally saw one of their assistant coaches get poached. The Jacksonville Jaguars announced on Wednesday night they have hired Vikings assistant quarterbacks coach/assistant offensive coordinator Grant Udinski to their coaching staff to become their offensive coordinator.
Grant Udinski hired as Jaguars offensive coordinator
This is a big blow to the Vikings coaching staff. Udinski, 29, is viewed as a wunderkind assistant. He is given a lot of credit for the development of both J.J. McCarthy and Sam Darnold within the walls of TCO Performance Center. He’s been with the Vikings for the last three years, coming from the Carolina Panthers when head coach Kevin O’Connell got hired.
For Udinski, he will be the offensive coordinator for the Jaguars before becoming a position coach in the National Football League.
“Grant will bring a wealth of knowledge, energy and a winning mindset to help lead our offense here in Jacksonville,” said Head Coach Liam Coen. “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 was requested by five teams to interview for their offensive coordinator position.
The Vikings will now be tasked with replacing him on the coaching staff, which might be harder than expected considering how much of a rising star Udinski is.