The NFL’s coaching carousel is beginning to slow down as more and more jobs are filled, though the Buffalo Bills are still awaiting a final call for their replacement for Sean McDermott.
Bills Mafia learned one name it wouldn’t be on Monday morning, as former NFL quarterback Philip Rivers withdrew his name from consideration. Another withdrawal elsewhere in the league, though, might be worth the Mafia’s attention.
Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski was the latest to withdraw his name from the Cleveland Browns’ opening. The 30-year-old coach won’t be heading to Cleveland, but instead agreeing to a new deal with the Jaguars, should he return to Duval. But, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Udinski isn’t out of the running to be a head coach in the NFL just yet.
Buffalo Bills remain in play as Jags OC Grant Udinski withdraws from Browns
Schefter reported on Monday that Udinski will return to Jacksonville unless he gets the job to be the Bills' next head coach.
Jaguars OC Grant Udinski has informed the Browns that he is removing himself from consideration for their HC position, per a source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 26, 2026
Udinski has a new deal in place with Jacksonville that will bump his pay for next season, but the Jaguars are allowing him to continue pursuing… pic.twitter.com/6CDaggeI4a
Udinski’s situation is clear: either he’ll be in Buffalo as the head coach, or he’ll go back to Jacksonville to continue honing his craft with Liam Coen and Trevor Lawrence. That said, it’s not an indicator of how the Bills feel about the situation, who still have plenty of candidates on their radar.
The Bills interviewed Udinski on Sunday. Hiring him would make him the youngest head coach in NFL history by nearly a full year.
Of course, now that the Super Bowl matchup is set, more candidates are available to move forward in the interviewing process with Buffalo. In that effort, the Bills interviewed Denver Broncos passing game coordinator Davis Webb on Monday.
Naturally, Udisnki is one of the more intriguing names available to the Bills. Most NFL fans outside of Jacksonville just learned his name a few weeks ago, and being such a young candidate with no play-calling experience at the NFL level, it’s impressive that he’s being taken so seriously as a head coaching candidate.
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Nonetheless, the work he and Coen put into quickly revitalizing Lawrence and the Jags is worth the endorsement. Imagining what he could do with Josh Allen in that same manner is what has Bills fans so intrigued, especially compared to other offensive minds who have had more time to garner criticisms in their process.
Still, Udinski will have to wait for Terry Pegula and Brandon Beane to come to their conclusions in the coming weeks to see what 2026 holds for him in the NFL.