Despite posting a 13-win season, the Jacksonville Jaguars were eliminated in their first playoff game since the 2022 season. What seemed to be the beginning of a promising playoff run ended with Trevor Lawrence throwing an interception in the final minute of the game against the Buffalo Bills.
However, positivity still remains with the team. Head coach Liam Coen led a remarkable turnaround and had one of the best regular seasons in franchise history. Regarding his mentality entering next season, Coen said, “We’re not going to just stand here and say, man, we’re just going to redo it all with all the same, same, same, same because that got us 13 wins and knocked out of the playoffs in the first round. Clearly it was not good enough for the full end of the season standard, but 31 other teams are having a similar conversation and they will have the similar conversation.”
Even if Coen wanted to do everything the same, that may not be possible as it seems a key member of the Jaguars’ success may be poached by another team.
Jacksonville Jaguars’ Offensive Coordinator is a Head Coaching Candidate
Despite having never worked with him before this season, Liam Coen hired Grant Udinski as his offensive coordinator for the 2025 season. He had previously served as the assistant offensive coordinator for the Vikings. Alongside Coen, Udinski led the Jaguars offense to a top 10 finish in points per game. Unfortunately for Jaguars fans, the pair may only last one season together as the Browns are considering him as their new head coach.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Browns are having a second interview with Udinski. On this occasion, the interview will be in person after the first was an interview via Zoom. Jaguars fans will hope the Browns settle on one of the other candidates that have received second interviews. Those names include, Mike McDaniel, Jim Schwartz, Nate Scheelhaase, Todd Monken, and Jesse Minter.
If Udinski were to land the job, he would become the youngest head coach ever hired in the NFL. Regarding Udinski, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said, “He’s helped me a lot. He’s really unique. I’ve never really met anyone like him, the way he approaches the preparation process, the attention to detail, the game planning in general, the things that he thinks about, the conversations that we have throughout the whole week.”
Potential Replacement for Udinski
If the Browns were to hire Udinski, that would mean the Jaguars would have to hire a new offensive coordinator. He would represent the third offensive coordinator Jacksonville has had in the past three seasons.
Sports Illustrated’s Andy Quach talked about the idea of promoting pass game coordinator Shane Waldron to offensive coordinator if necessary. Waldron previously held that position in Chicago in 2024. Prior to that, he was the offensive coordinator in Seattle for three seasons. Quach wrote, “He’d make a lot of sense to replace Udinski. For one, he’s already played a successful role in Jacksonville, as one of the driving forces behind Trevor Lawrence’s career year.”
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