The Cleveland Browns' head coach search has drawn a lot of scrutiny from all different corners of the media. Whether it's their lack of compliance with the Rooney Rule nearly three weeks after relieving Kevin Stefanski of his duties, the fact that they're asking candidates to write essays and complete homework as part of their interviews, or the embarrassing reality that multiple candidates have said, "thanks, but no thanks," the search has been a bit of a roller coaster.
One name that continues to have considerable hype is Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski. There seems to be a great deal of mutual interest between the 30-year-old Udinski and the Browns' front office.
At a glance, it's easy to see why the Browns have piqued interest in Udinski's services. He spent 2022–2024 in various offensive roles for the Minnesota Vikings, including as assistant offensive coordinator for their 14–3 campaign in 2024. He then took a promotion with the Jaguars to be their offensive coordinator, playing a crucial role in their miraculous turnaround in 2025.
It's hard to doubt Udinski's football mind or acumen, though there are fair concerns to raise. Udinski has not dialed up offensive plays in his career, as his bosses (Kevin O'Connell in Minnesota and Liam Coen in Jacksonville) were the play-callers at his previous stops.
Nonetheless, he has essentially earned a master's degree in the league's vogue offense. O'Connell and Coen both come from the patented Shanahan–McVay coaching tree, a tree the Browns appear eager to pick from for their next head coach.
Mike Pettine sees something in Grant Udinski that the Browns can’t afford to ignore
The perception of Udinski league-wide has been glowing from many of his previous co-workers. It certainly means something when Mike Pettine — someone intimately familiar with the Cleveland Browns organization after a two-year stint as HC back in 2014–2015 — waxed poetically about Udinski's ability to be the next leader for the Cleveland Browns.
Appearing on the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show, Pettine had this to say about his former colleague with the Minnesota Vikings.
“He was really a huge part of our offensive success in Minnesota, and justifiably so, got a bunch of OC interviews and got the job at Jacksonville, did a great job there. So it’s not a surprise to me. People are going to look at his youth, but there’s other comparisons of guys that young. But when it comes to identifying coaches, and people have asked me about this, there’s no one thing. To me, it’s an ‘it’ factor, and Grant has it.”
Despite his youth, former #Browns HC Mike Pettine believes that Grant Udiniski has that “IT” factor and will be a good NFL head Coach. pic.twitter.com/WcqZSNRdUU
— Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show (@ultCLEsports) January 22, 2026
Don't think Pettine is just blowing smoke for one of his buddies, either. In the same interview, he lambasted current Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores as someone he didn't see eye-to-eye with. Pettine went as far as saying that he switched to helping with the offense because of his inability to coexist with Flores. So, when he praises Udinski, he means it.
There will naturally be skeptics out there. That's OK, a lot of people scratched their heads when the Los Angeles Rams hired then 31-year-old Sean McVay in 2017. Nine years later, with two Super Bowl appearances and one victory under his belt — and perhaps another trip in the very near future — no one's doubting his head-coaching chops now.
If Udinski is able to achieve even a fraction of that in Cleveland, he will one day have a statue outside of the new Cleveland Browns stadium — and fans could only be so lucky.