Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell received a ton of credit for winning 14 games and helping Sam Darnold revive his career last season.
The reigning AP NFL Coach of the Year would be the first to admit, though, that the 2024 Vikings had a star-studded group of offensive coaches on the rise.
O’Connell’s brain trust included longtime offensive coordinator Wes Phillips, quarterbacks coach Josh McCown, and assistant offensive coordinator Grant Udinski. That group helped groom and develop a stacked quarterback depth chart that at one point included Darnold, then-rookie J.J. McCarthy, Daniel Jones, and Nick Mullens.
Minnesota’s staff, especially those working closely with the quarterbacks, was a hot commodity during the NFL's 2025 hiring cycle. Both McCown and Udinski had opportunities to leave for offensive coordinator roles; McCown actually interviewed with the New York Jets for their vacant head coach opening in January.
The Vikings ultimately lost Udinski, who was poached by Liam Coen and the Jacksonville Jaguars as their new offensive coordinator.
Udinski is still a young pup in the league — just 29 years old — but as the Vikings enter their bye week, it’s fair to question how much they’re missing O’Connell’s protégé, who has hit the ground running in Duval County.
Gamble on former Minnesota Vikings assistant Grant Udinski is paying off early for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2025
The Jaguars quietly have a chance to accomplish something their franchise hasn’t sniffed in over 25 years — a 5-1 start to the season.
That Udinski and company will first have to beat old field Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks this week makes it a little too perfect.
Udinski isn’t calling the plays for Jacksonville — similar to O’Connell, Coen handles that job from the sideline on game days — but it’s been hard not to notice the young coach’s impact over the first month-plus of the season.
The Jaguars have climbed from the dregs of the league to respectability on offense; they enter Week 6 ranked 16th overall in yards per play and 10th in scoring.
Another feather in Udinski’s cap? Quarterback Trevor Lawrence has shown signs of turning the corner in recent wins over the Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers, and Kansas City Chiefs.
Udinski’s exact role with the Vikings was unclear, but we do know he was a right-hand man of O’Connell and served as a mentor to McCarthy during his lost rookie season due to injury.
McCarthy and the Vikings haven’t exactly hit the ground running on offense this season. Injuries up front have forced O’Connell to adjust to more of a quick passing game. McCarthy himself has been out since Week 3 with an ankle injury.
Minnesota hits its bye week ranked 25th in yards per game, 19th in yards per play, and 14th in scoring; the Vikings ranked 12th, 13th, and ninth, respectively, in those categories with Darnold and Udinski in 2024.
It may be Week 6 already, but it’s still very early for the 2025 Vikings. We haven’t yet seen McCarthy on the field with his full starting offensive line or top two wide receivers.
But as we see around the NFL on a weekly basis, coaching and continuity matters. The Vikings helped develop a rising star in Udinski, and the Jaguars are the ones reaping the benefits now.