As much as modern society is built on convenience, comfort, and self-soothing — just me? Sorry, don't mean to speak for you, reader — the Miami Dolphins are deliberately overhauling their whole organization after firing head coach Mike McDaniel.
While yours truly could serve as McDaniel's legal representation and prattle on about why he got the short end of the stick time and again in Miami, the reality is, the Dolphins are moving in a new direction.
As the Dolphins now settle in with new General Manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, and the head coach search marches on, there's one candidate who stands out above the rest who'd be both a convenient option and a symbol of a bold new direction for the franchise.
Jaguars OC Grant Udinski could be a sneaky hire by the Miami Dolphins
Grant Udinski. Heard the name before? Well, he's the Jacksonville Jaguars' offensive coordinator, so low cost of moving to Miami!
Although he's never called plays before, Udinski is learning from one of the best in Liam Coen, serving as a key assistant to the Jags' ascent to a 13-4 record and reign atop the AFC South.
Guess where Udinski was before Jacksonville? The Minnesota Vikings, where he was the assistant OC and assistant quarterbacks coach. In other words, he was there with Kevin O'Connell to oversee Sam Darnold's emergence as a top-tier starter.
In addition to helping rescue Darnold from career oblivion, Trevor Lawrence has credited Udinski with his own improvement. After a couple of troublesome seasons that had many questioning whether he was, in fact, a franchise QB, Lawrence is playing like a top-five player at the position.
The Athletic's Alec Lewis just dropped a deep-dive report on the Vikings, which happened to coincide with McDaniel's dismissal from Miami. Lewis' piece contained glowing testimony from Lawrence on Udinski from several weeks prior:
"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...There are no stones that are left unturned in his approach with us in the QB room."
Another nugget from Lewis came from a Vikings team source who said of Udinski, "We should have done everything we could to keep him."
If there's a hotter name or someone who's ascended the coaching ranks faster than Udinski, kindly point him out. You won't find anyone with more momentum.
I know it's fashionable to make bold claims like, "THIS GUY IS THE NEXT SEAN MCVAY!" But Udinski is earning that type of praise, including from this lengthy X thread by Pro Football Sports Network:
The youngest name on our Under-the-Radar HC Candidate List might be one of the most intriguing. Grant Udinski turns 30 years old this month, which would make him younger than Sean McVay was when the Rams hired him in 2017.
— PFSN (@PFSN365) January 5, 2026
Jacksonville's first-year offensive coordinator doesn't… pic.twitter.com/zQZOFh3Ezi
That post delves deeper into Udinski's background as a member of Matt Rhule's staff at Baylor for one year, and in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers for two. Although Rhule couldn't turn Carolina around, that was more due to not having a viable QB at the time than anything else.
If there are two better young head coach/offensive play-caller types than O'Connell and Coen, I haven't seen them. Udinski has worked under both and ascended to a second-in-command post before the age of 30.
There aren't many other inspiring candidates on this year's edition of the coaching carousel. Certainly none with the blend of youth, rapid progress through the ranks, or one who's been in the immediate orbit of exceptional offensive-minded head coaches like Udinski.
Seriously, if it's not John Harbaugh, who else are the Dolphins going to hire that'll get the fan base super excited? Grant Udinski feels like an easy sell.
Udinski's connections to the forever-underrated Phil Snow by way of Rhule, Brian Flores via O'Connell, and current Jags defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile should inspire confidence that he'll build a strong defensive staff.
When it comes to offense — and let's face it, the Dolphins need someone who can elevate the quarterback amid much uncertainty at the position — Udinski could be the sharpest, most forward-thinking schematic wizard available.
It may take some patience until the Jags are done with their playoff run. However, the payoff could be huge if the Fins take the bold step to hire Udinski as their next head coach.