The Jaguars’ young offensive coordinator would interview for Cleveland's head-coach job, left open when the Browns fired fifth-year coach Kevin Stefanski, who was fired Jan. 5.
The Cleveland Browns requested permission on Monday to interview Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski for their head-coach opening, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
Also Monday, the Browns interviewed former Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, the latest of a long list of candidates who might replace Kevin Stefanski, who was let go by the Browns on Jan. 5, the day after the team's season finale. McDaniel lost his job in Miami on Jan. 8.
With more than a quarter of NFL teams searching for their next head coach, it seemed inevitable those teams' owners and general managers would invite the first two coordinators from the Liam Coen coaching tree.
The Jags' defensive coordinator, Anthony Campanile, was reportedly on the wish list of candidates the Tennessee Titans planned to interview in the offseason for their head coach opening.
The Titans fired coach Brian Callahan on Oct. 13, after the team started 1-5 this season. Tennessee finished 2-9 under Callahan's replacement, Mike McCoy, a senior offensive assistant who took over as interim coach.
McCoy is among the candidates as the Titans reportedly began interviews this week.
Udinski, who celebrated his 30th birthday Monday, just finished his first season as Coen's offensive coordinator in Jacksonville. He spent the previous three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, working with the quarterbacks.
Udinski this year helped lead the Jaguars to a No. 11 ranking in total offense during the regular season, when they averaged 337.4 yards per game.
Last January, once the Jaguars hired Coen away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he had served one season as OC, the new head coach brought Udinski in from Minnesota, where he was an assistant quarterbacks coach and assistant offensive coordinator.
Because Coen did the play-calling for this season's Jags, Udinski has yet to call plays at the NFL level. Udinski was a key part of the Jags' brain trust that overhauled the offense and developed quarterback Trevor Lawrence, making him one of the league's best quarterbacks during the second half of the season.
It is not unprecedented for a 30-year-old to be hired as an NFL head coach. The Los Angeles Rams did so with Sean McVay, hiring him on Jan. 12, 2017 -- 12 days before his 31st birthday, making him the youngest head coach in league history.
If Udinski gets hired away from the Jaguars this year, he would take that mantle from McVay. One key difference between McVay and Udinski is that the Rams' coach had spent three years as an offensive coordinator and had done the play-calling with the Washington Commanders before he was hired by the Rams.
Regardless, it is telling that Udinski is already at least getting a look in hiring cycle. Though he may not land one of those jobs as head coach this soon, he is clearly on the radar.