Six years ago, the Cleveland Browns hired a young NFL assistant coming off his first season as an offensive coordinator to become a first-time head coach. Now, history may be about to repeat itself, while also making history in the process.
Kevin Stefanski was that aforementioned coach who went on to have six up-and-down seasons with the Browns. Now, with Stefanski fired following a second straight disappointing campaign, Cleveland is searching for his replacement.
It reportedly has interest in Jacksonville Jaguars assistant Grant Udinski, and analyst Ken Carman is making a strong case for the Browns to hire the young offensive coordinator.
“Here we are. You got a 30-year-old young man out there, and I worry about his support system. You’ve got a tenuous situation with the general manager (Andrew Berry). I think, if they hired him — they did it for Kevin — I think the owner (Jimmy Haslam) would go, ‘Hey, he needs time. Give him time.’ At the same time, are you letting a 30-year-old then turn around and help you hire your general manager if you move on from the general manager? I think what a guy like Udinski does is he buys more time. If you’re only gonna win five or six games, you will have more time because you’re gonna go, ‘He’s 30 years old. Let’s let him grow into the position.’ If you’re gonna win five or six games with Mike McDaniel, you’re gonna go, ‘What are we doing here?’ You can’t help but think, ‘Well, why don’t we just make him the head coach? We have time. We’re not gonna go anywhere. Let’s just make him the head coach,” Carman said.
"They did it for Kevin, I think the owner would go hey he needs time… I think what a guy like Udinski does is buys time. If you only win 5 games with Mike McDaniel we're gonna ask what we're doing."
🏈@KenCarman & @SportsBoyTony on Browns being patient with a young head coach pic.twitter.com/gQWccLd0JV
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) January 15, 2026
Udinski just turned 30 years old this week, but he still has six seasons of NFL coaching experience. If hired by the Browns or one of the multiple other teams with a vacancy, he would become the youngest head coach in modern NFL history (Sean McVay was 30 years and 353 days old when he was hired by the Los Angeles Rams).
Prior to joining the Jaguars’ staff under new head coach Liam Cohen this season, Udinski spent three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. Ironically, that is where Stefanski was coaching before the Browns hired him to be their head coach in January 2020 at 37 years old.
After playing defensive end in college, Udinski started his coaching career immediately as a graduate assistant at Baylor, reportedly sleeping in his car after landing that job. He would bring a unique background to the table for Cleveland, and he could ideally satisfy its preference to hire someone who can build a relationship with young players.
There are many candidates for the job, including McDaniel, the recently fired Miami Dolphins head coach, with several having already interviewed for the position, including current defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. The Browns have requested permission to interview Udinski, but that meeting has not yet taken place.
This coaching hire could be a career-defining decision for Berry as an NFL executive, so it will be interesting to see whether he chooses this unique path.
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