Rick

Dennison

Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak is getting the gang back together, as Dennison worked with his father in Houston before joining Klint’s staff in New Orleans last offseason. Dennison will try to help the Seahawks offensive line gel better than they did in 2024 as the new staff has vowed to try to establish the run.

Dennison got his start in the NFL alongside Gary Kubiak with the Broncos. He has remained close with the Kubiaks throughout his career and recently joined Klint Kubiak in New Orleans for the 2024 season. Kubiak was fired after one season but landed another offensive coordinator gig, this time in Seattle. Though the exact details of Dennison’s departure haven’t been ironed out, all signs point toward him joining Kubiak in the northwest.

Rauscher’s promotion comes after offensive line coach/run-game coordinator Rick Dennison refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19. As such, Dennison is not allowed contact with the players. He will now work “virtually” in 2021 as a senior offensive advisor. It’s possible Dennison will eventually come around and roll up his sleeve.

Dennison, the Vikings’ offensive line coach and run game coordinator the past two years, came to an agreement with the team that will allow him to stay on staff. “The agreement is more like an acknowledgement that team and coach will comply with the applicable COVID protocols as determined by the NFL, whether Dennison is vaccinated or not,” ProFootballTalk reports. “Those protocols likely will limit Dennison’s ability to directly interact with players, if he chooses not to get the vaccine.”

Dennison, who had served as the Vikings’ offensive line coach/run game coordinator the past two years, is the league’s first position coach to part ways with his team upon refusing the vaccine, which is required for all Tier 1 staff including coaches, front-office executives, equipment managers and scouts. The team will internally promote Phil Rauscher from assistant offensive line coach to Dennison’s former role and move Ben Steele, Auburn’s former special-teams analyst, to fill Rauscher’s position. Although he was the first, Dennison isn’t expected to be the last coach to walk away stemming from the league’s strict protocols for those who are unvaccinated.

Dennison has been Gary Kubiak’s longtime right-hand man dating back to their early days in Houston and Denver. A fight over Dennison and the rest of Kubiak’s core group of friends was reportedly a major reason Kubiak wasn’t hired as Broncos OC this offseason. Kubiak is the top assistant coach in Minnesota now. Kevin Stefanski has the title of offensive coordinator.

New coach Vance Joseph will hire his own OC, who will then pick his assistants. Dennison has long been Gary Kubiak’s right-hand man, and with Kubiak now stepping away from the game, it’s unclear what Dennison will do. It’s possible he could join Kyle Shanahan’s staff if Shanahan gets the 49ers’ job.

Dennison was the Broncos’ coordinator the past two seasons, but wasn’t retained following Gary Kubiak’s resignation. Dennison also coordinated the Texans’ offense under Kubiak from 2010-13. It’s a decent, if unimaginative, hire for a Bills team that isn’t setting the world ablaze with its new coaching staff. Dennison’s addition doesn’t really speak to Tyrod Taylor’s future one way or the other, though he was Taylor’s QBs coach for the Ravens in 2014 when Taylor was still a backup. Like Kubiak, Dennison is a run-first, play-action oriented play-caller.

This was fully expected. Buffalo give up on Dennison after one season, but he has one of the better run schemes in the league. Jeremy Bates is replacing John Morton as the Jets’ offensive coordinator.

Dennison was Gary Kubiak’s offensive coordinator in Houston and coordinated the Broncos’ offense from 2006-08. An offensive line guru, Dennison has extensive experience in Kubiak’s zone-blocking scheme. The Ravens also have interest in Dennison as a potential in-house replacement for Kubiak.