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Offensive coordinator Grant Udinski of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Udinski is interviewing for the Cleveland Browns head coaching job.
It was just seven years ago that Grant Udinski was student and graduate assistant at Baylor. On Saturday, he will have his first interview with the Cleveland Browns to be the head coach of the team, replacing Kevin Stefanski, who was fired on the day after the 2025 season ended.
In the time since he began his coaching career with the Baylor Bears, Udinski has moved up the NFL chain at a remarkable pace–he moved to the Carolina Panthers when Baylor coach Matt Rhule jumped to the NFL, and then to the Vikings as an assistant to head coach Kevin O’Connell. He worked his way up to the role of assistant quarterbacks coach and assistant offensive coordinator before, at the age of 29, he was made the offensive coordinator for the Jaguars.
With Jacksonville having seen a massive turnaround from quarterback Trevor Lawrence, and seeing their offensive ranking at Pro Football Focus going up from 24th to 12th under Udinski in 2025, Udkinski finds himself in line for a major possible promotion–one that could make him the youngest head-coaching hire in the NFL.
Browns Officially Announce Grant Udinski Interview
While it has been reported that the Browns planned to interview Udinski, on Saturday, the team made the announcement official. “We’re interviewing Grant Udinski for our head coach opening,” the team’s social media account wrote on Saturday morning.
As the Browns wrote in part of their announcement of the interview: “Prior to becoming a coach, Udinski played defensive end at Towson from 2016-18. He played in all 12 games in 2018, finishing the season with 28 total tackles, 4.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. He also played one season at Davidson College as a tight end before transferring to Towson in 2016.”
Despite those defensive roots, Udinski has gained a reputation as an offensive wunderkind in the NFL. That was highlighted by a resurfaced quote from the Vikings’ O’Connell, who said, “Interviewing Grant was like interviewing a guy who could build a car from scratch for a job at a car wash.”
Wide Net Cast to Replace Kevin Stefanski
The interview for Udinski represents a split in the thinking of the Browns as they search for their next coach. There is ample support for taking a risky young coordinator on one hand, but there is also a sense that a steady hand could do as the team seeks to rebuild its offense
The Browns are said to favor bringing back 59-year-old Jim Schwartz as the head coach, after he was brilliant as the team’s defensive coordinator for the past three seasons. They were also rumored to be after former Ravens coach Jim Harbaugh, though he appears ready to (eventually) take the Giants job.
Udinski will be the ninth interview for the Browns, with Chris Shula still on the request list. Here’s the candidate survey now:
- Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, not expected to advance to second round.
- Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, reportedly in line for second interview.
- Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher.
- Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde.
- Ex-Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
- Ex-Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel.
- Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase.
- Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
- Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, interviewing today.
- Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, not yet scheduled.
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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