The man who’s become one of the Vikings’ most important coaches is, quite often, the man who can’t be found. Grant Udinski is on some faraway practice field, doing extra work with a quarterback when Kevin O’Connell gestures over reporters’ shoulders to point him out in a news conference. Long after players and coaches had left on Fridays last November, Udinski stayed on the Vikings’ indoor field, for cram sessions with Jaren Hall and Joshua Dobbs that sometimes lasted six hours.
To J.J. McCarthy’s frequent 11:30 p.
m. questions about the Vikings offense this spring, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips simply responded, “Text Grant.” Udinski added McCarthy to the small group of people whose texts break through the do-not-disturb settings on his phone.
O’Connell gets the same priority, two years after Udinski, then the coach’s personal assistant, forgot to give him the dates for a Rocky Mountain hiking trip and a question from O’Connell was lost in spotty cell service, leading to dozens of texts and voicemails making sure he was OK. ”When I say he’s all football, all the time, I mean it — if he’s not hiking a mountain in Colorado,” O’Connell said. “And he’s not staying in the most luxurious accommodations.
He’s sleeping on the side of a mountain somewhere. I mean, if we could ever do a day in the life of him when he’s not doing football, it would be much more exciting than when he is.” Sign up for the Access Vikings newsletter Since h.
