For the Cleveland Browns, maybe the choice is a pretty stark one: Do you want the 59-year-old who has head-coaching experience and a proven track record in your own building, or do you want the young whippersnapper who has been given the “genius” label despite a very limited resume? Do you want Jim Schwartz as the next head coach of the Browns, or Grant Udinski?
OK, it is not that simple, actually, and there will be more candidates in the mix. But as the process begins to move to the second round of interviews, it’s become clear that the Browns like the experience factor with Schwartz but are more than intrigued by how the 30-year-old Udinski would be in the role.
It is experience vs. upside, at least at this point, for the Browns.
Grant Udinski’s Interview Went All 3 Hours
Udinski had his first interview with the Browns on Saturday, and according to reports, he and the team talked for the entire window. As Jaguars columnist Ryan O’Halloran wrote, “Per league source, #Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski’s virtual interview with Cleveland Browns for head-coaching post today lasted the allotted three hours.”
There is certainly buzz around Udinski as a candidate for the Browns, given that he helped fuel a turnaround for Trevor Lawrence with the Jaguars as the offensive coordinator last season, and was part of the Sam Darnold resuscitation as a quarterbacks coach in Minnesota the previous year.
Browns Could Use Grant Udinski’s ‘Next-Level Thinking’
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN said of Udinski that in Jacksonville, “They say he has a way of utilizing the next level offensive thinking he has but then also dumb it down to the other coaches and players. He tends to see the game a different way. Some guys struggle relaying that to the players.”
And Cleveland radio host Ken Carman of 92.3 FM added that if Udinski is the next big thing, why not get him now? “I can’t stop thinking about how intrigued I am by him. There’s something about a young guy where all these NFL guys are saying he’s gonna be a star. If he’s gonna be a head coach next year what am I waiting on?” Carman said.
GettyDefensive coordinator Jim Schwartz of the Cleveland Browns
What if the Browns Are Being Used?
Of course, there’s another wrinkle that those around the Browns might be missing here. This process has been very beneficial for Udinski in getting his name out onto the coaching rumor mill, and he certainly has the attention of the league. At this point, taking the Cleveland job might not be a very smart thing on his part–he might do much better as the Jaguars OC again next year, then hit the market with Ben Johnson-type anticipation next winter.
If you are Udinski and you’re looking at the Browns, you see a team with the worst two starting quarterbacks in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, with an offensive line in which everyone’s a free agent and limited investment has been made in young players, and a receiver group that is also among the league’s worst.
No matter how much of offensive genius Udinski is, no one can turn chopped liver into filet mignon. It is entirely possible that this process has done all it needs to do for him, and he won’t take the Browns job. In that case, maybe the decision to hire Schwartz will be an easy one.
