Minnesota Vikings Add A Coach

When Grant Udinski departed the Minnesota Vikings for the offensive coordinator job of the Jacksonville Jaguars, I wondered if Kevin O’Connell would look for a replacement. In only three years, Udinski had made a quick rise. He did so well that O’Connell really had no choice but to keep promoting him. Udinski joined the Vikings as a special assistant to the head coach. He left as assistant offensive coordinator/assistant quarterbacks coach. Assistant offensive coordinator? I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen one of those. Udinski kept excelling and taking on responsibilities. His last and top responsibility was getting rookie quarterback J.J McCarthy ready for the NFL. Udinski was challenged even further when McCarthy tore the meniscus in his knee and was lost for the season. Now, the coach had to work with an injured quarterback and three healthy quarterbacks. Two jobs! The job became even more challenging later in the season when Daniel Jones was added to the quarterback room. Udinski had so many responsibilities that I wondered if O’Connell could replace him. I wondered if O’Connell would even try. Well, I no longer need to wonder.

Yesterday, the Vikings hired Jordan Traylor as assistant offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. I had never heard of Udinski when he was hired off of Matt Rhule’s Carolina Panthers staff. I have head of Traylor. That’s likely due to Traylor being a little further along in his coaching career than Udinski was in 2022. A former Texas A&M quarterback, Traylor got his coaching start in 2016 at the University of Texas. He moved on to the University of Arkansas in 2018. He jumped to the NFL in 2019 as a scouting assistant for the New Orleans Saints. In 2021, he joined the team’s coaching staff as a defensive assistant. Two years later, he moved to the offense. In his six years of coaching with the Saints, Traylor worked for Sean Payton and Dennis Allen. New head coach, Kellen Moore hoped to keep the young coach on his first Saints staff. Those plans changed when Kevin O’Connell swooped in and brought him to Minnesota. 

As long as the Minnesota Vikings do well on the field, their coaching staff will be annually raided. I hated to see Grant Udinski depart but I knew that it was inevitable. I thought this was a year early but I knew the day was coming. Quarterbacks coach Josh McCown is probably next. I trust Kevin O’Connell to find the next Udinski or McCown. Perhaps he’s found the next rising Vikings coach in Jordan Traylor.