Vikings Coach Interviewed By Patriots For OC Opening – “He’s a Genius”

Mike Vrabel has been busy over the last week trying to put his coaching staff together, with many wondering who the team will settle on when it comes to their offensive coordinator opening.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Patriots have interviewed Minnesota Vikings offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski for the opening.

The 28-year old reportedly interviewed with the team on Monday, and he’s an interesting candidate. Udinski has been on an upward trajectory during his career, having already jumped up the ranks during his brief time in the league.

He’s been a valuable asset to Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, who initially hired him as an assistant to the head coach/special projects role in 2022. But Udinski clearly outperformed his role and O’Connell noticed, with the young coach seeing “assistant offensive coordinator” added to his title ahead of the 2024 season.

He’s also already seen his fair share of adversity. He helped the Vikings get through Kirk Cousin’s final season in Minnesota, with the quarterback’s season-ending injury in Week 8. That led to Udinski having to coach up the guys behind Cousins, which included Nick Mullins, Joshua Dobbs, and rookie Jaren Hall that year.

Now it appears he’s ready to take the next step somewhere else, with the Seattle Seahawks also said to be among the teams who are in the mix. Udinski is reportedly a finalist for that job, which might make it tough for the Patriots to lure him here. Alec Lewis of the Athletic reported on Tuesday that Udinski has already interviewed twice this offseason for the role with the Seahawks, with one NFC staffer telling Lewis, “People rave about this guy.” Vikings quarterback Brett Rypien told Lewis of Udinski: “Grant is a savant. He’s a genius.”

The young coach was also key to the development of the Vikings’ young stable of quarterbacks. Minnesota rookie J.J. McCarthy said in a terrific piece by Ben Goessling of the Minnesota Star Tribune back in November that one of the great things that’s made Udinski such a great coach is that he’s able to make complex things simple in the classroom.

“I feel like that’s where true intelligence, true wisdom lies: making complex concepts simple,” said McCarthy. “You wouldn’t know he’s one of the smartest in the room. That’s something I really appreciate about him.”

Another thing that has also stood out is the fact that it’s tough to get much by him. Quarterbacks coach Josh McCown, who also was a quarterback in the NFL for almost two decades, said that he saw similarities with O’Connell when it came to Udinski, and he believes he’s going to be special.

“It reminds me a ton of Kevin, when I had him as a quarterbacks coach [in 2015 with the Browns],” said McCown. “You could tell immediately, with his presence and intellect, he was going to be a really good coach. That’s definitely what I can feel from Grant.”

For now, the Patriots are still figuring out who will ultimately end up on the sideline along with Drake Maye next season. But it’s clear that Udinski is an intriguing candidate who will be one to watch no matter where he ends up.