Jaguars Get Much Needed News on Grant Udinski Front

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars just got a great start to their week.

While the Jaguars are not yet out of the woods when it comes to Grant Udinski getting a head coaching job, they got a terrific development toward their case on Monday as Udinski officially pulled himself out of consideration for the Cleveland Browns' gig.

Udinski Drops Out

"Jaguars OC Grant Udinski has informed the Browns that he is removing himself from consideration for their HC position, per a source," ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Monday. "Udinski has a new deal in place with Jacksonville that will bump his pay for next season, but the Jaguars are allowing him to continue pursuing the Bills’ HC job. If Udinski doesn’t get the Buffalo job, he will be back as the Jaguars’ OC."

Now, the Jaguars will have to wait and see if Udinski gets the Bills job. If the Bills hire a different coach after firing Sean McDermott a week ago, then the Jaguars will have Udinski back as offensive coordinator in 2025.

The Jaguars have long been cognizant that other teams would be interested in both Udinski and Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile. And over the last few weeks, five teams combined have interviewed the Jaguars' star coordinators for head coaching roles.

The Browns gave Udinski a second interview -- this one an in-person interview with their brass -- which seemingly made him a finalist amongst Jim Schwartz and Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. But with Udinski officially dropping out of the job search, the Browns' focus will go elsewhere and the Jaguars' chances of retaining Udinski have skyrocketed.

The Jaguars should still be wary of the Bills, of course. Udinski has no direct tie to the Bills organization or Josh Allen, but he worked closely with Sam Darnold with the Minnesota Vikings during the 2024 season, and Darnold and Allen have a close relationship. There are other coaches in the hunt with closer ties to the Bills and Allen, of course, but Udinski does at least make some sense there.

But for the last week or so, Udinski has seemed like a real and credible threat to leave for the Browns. Now, the Jaguars have one less thing to worry about as they begin their offseason, and potentially one less coach that they have to think about finding a replacement for over the next several weeks and beyond.

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