PHILADELPHIA, PA – September 19: Minnesota Vikings assistant head coach/special projects Grant Udinski stands on the sideline against the Philadelphia Eagles during a game at Lincoln Financial Field on September 19, 2022 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania.
(Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
The Brief
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Minnesota Vikings assistant coach Grant Udinski has a second interview with the Seattle Seahawks for their offensive coordinator position on Friday.
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The Seahawks also interviewed former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich for the position.
The Seattle Seahawks are conducting a second interview with Minnesota Vikings assistant coach Grant Udinski for their offensive coordinator vacancy, by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
Udinski was scheduled to interview the team in person on Friday after conducting a virtual interview earlier this week. Udinski is the second candidate to receive a second interview with the team. New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak had a second interview earlier this week.
Dig Deeper
Udinski, 28, spent the last three seasons with the Vikings coaching staff. He joined the team as assistant to head coach Kevin O’Connell in charge of special projects before becoming assistant quarterbacks coach in 2023.
Udinski followed Matt Rhule from Baylor University to the Carolina Panthers in 2020 after spending one season as a graduate assistant for the Bears. He spent two years as an assistant coach for the Panthers before joining the Vikings coaching staff in 2022.
A native of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Udinski played one season as a tight end at Davidson College before transferring to Towson University in 2016. He spent three years at Towson as a defensive end before to coach at Baylor in 2019.
However, the second interview with Udinski was not the only development on the coordinator front.
“Seahawks interview Byron Leftwich”.
ATLANTA, GA JANUARY 08: Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady (12) and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich talk before the start of the NFL game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons on January 8, 2023 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium d ‘Atlanta, GEORGIA.
(Rich von Biberstein/Sportswire Icon/Getty Images)
According to a report by Jonathan Jones of CBSSports.comthe Seahawks also recently interviewed former NFL quarterback and Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich for the position.
Leftwich, 45, has not coached since being fired by the Buccaneers at the end of the 2022 season. He spent five total seasons as an offensive coordinator in the NFL – four with the Buccaneers and one with the Arizona Cardinals.
Leftwich was the seventh overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft after a standout career at Marshall University. Leftwich played 10 seasons in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers and Buccaneers. He then became a coach with the Cardinals in 2016 as an intern before becoming offensive coordinator in 2018.
Leftwich then followed head coach Bruce Arians to the Buccaneers, where they won Super Bowl LV with Tom Brady at quarterback in 2020. Tampa finished in the top three in the NFL in points scored from 2019 to 21 with Jamies Winston and Brady at quarterback. Leftwich was fired after one season under head coach Todd Bowles when offensive production dropped after Arians retired.
The interview with Leftwich allows the Seahawks to meet requirements for compliance with the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which requires interviews with at least two minority or female candidates for head coach and coordinator hiring. Chicago Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown is also in the minority.
The source
Reporting from NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones.
MORE NEWS ON THE SEAHAWKS
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