Rick Dennison

Saints To Hire Rick Dennison

February 16th, 2024 at 1:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

New Saints OC Klint Kubiak is bringing a familiar staffer with him to New Orleans. Rick Dennison will return to coaching, re-emerging after two seasons out of the league.

The Saints are hiring Dennison as their run-game coordinator on offense, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz tweets. Dennison has an extensive past with Gary Kubiak and Mike Shanahan, who played the lead roles in shaping the offense that has caught on thanks to the rises of Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay.

Dennison, 65, will head to New Orleans as a four-time offensive coordinator. While Dennison’s OC days are probably over, his commitment to join Klint Kubiak with the NFC South team provides a fairly strong indication into the type of offense the new OC plans to implement. Dennison worked with both Kubiaks in Minnesota, being the Vikings’ O-line coach and run-game coordinator from 2019-20. He was on as a senior offensive assistant in 2021.

Mike Shanahan employed Dennison as an assistant throughout his 14-year stay as Broncos HC. The former Broncos linebacker was not in place as offensive line coach when a dominant Denver O-line helped Terrell Davis to the Hall of Fame, though he was in that role as the back half of the team’s assembly line of 1,000-yard rushers formed under Shanahan. The Broncos promoted Dennison to OC in 2006, and he rejoined Gary Kubiak in Houston in 2010. Dennison’s stay as Texans OC overlapped with Arian Foster‘s ascent, which included a rushing title, with the Texans.

Dennison carries three Super Bowl rings from his Broncos days, picking up No. 3 as Gary Kubiak’s non-play-calling OC in 2015. The Bills employed Dennison as a play-calling OC in Sean McDermott‘s first season (2017) but fired him after one season, leading to the Brian Daboll hire. The Bills ranked 22nd offensively under Dennison but sixth on the ground, as LeSean McCoy motored to another Pro Bowl in Buffalo. Dennison came under fire in 2021, refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Vikings were believed to have kept Dennison on staff but moved him out of his role as O-line coach as a result, as coaches needed to be vaccinated to work directly with players that year.

The Saints are also hiring former Chargers assistant Derrick Foster as their running backs coach, 247Sports.com’s Matt Zenitz tweets. They recently interviewed Keith Williams for their wide receivers coach position as well, NewOrleans.football’s Nick Underhill adds. Williams worked as the Ravens’ assistant wideouts coach last season, being hired during Greg Roman‘s OC tenure but moved to that job under Todd Monken. Williams was also on Pat Hill’s Fresno State staff from 2009-11, a period that overlapped with Derek Carr‘s years with the program.

Vikings Keep Rick Dennison On Staff

July 23rd, 2021 at 6:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

6:29pm: Dennison’s agent has chimed in on this situation, indicating his client remains in the picture for the Vikings, via the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling (on Twitter). The Vikings have indeed managed to retain Dennison, keeping him on staff as a senior offensive advisor. Rauscher remains in place as the team’s offensive line coach.

3:31pm: The Vikings released a statement indicating that while Dennison does not have a medical or religious exemption to avoid the vaccine under the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols, he and the team continue to hold discussions, the St. Paul Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson tweets. These discussions would seemingly be centered around Dennison changing his mind on the vaccine, but it does not appear he is 100% out the door just yet.

2:44pm: Vikings offensive line coach Rick Dennison will not be with the team going forward. The longtime NFL assistant is done with the Vikings due to his refusal to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports.

While the NFLPA bargained for players to not be required to receive the vaccine, coaches must provide medical or religious grounds in order to refuse it. Otherwise, they cannot work with players onsite. Dennison’s refusal will wrap his two-plus-year tenure with the Vikings, who hired him as their O-line coach in January 2019. Minnesota will promote assistant O-line coach Phil Rauscher to fill the position, Cronin adds.

The Vikings hired Dennison after bringing Gary Kubiak aboard as offensive coordinator, and he was set to work under new OC Klint Kubiak this season. Dennison, 63, was set to serve as a key aid for the younger Kubiak this season. He is believed to be the first coach to part ways with a team due to a vaccination refusal. The Vikings also hired Ben Steele to fill Rauscher’s assistant O-line coach post, per Cronin. Steele spent the past two seasons with the Falcons; he worked as their tight ends coach in 2020.

Dennison had been on Gary Kubiak’s Super Bowl-winning Broncos staff as OC and initially rose to an NFL offensive coordinator role by succeeding Kubiak in that post in Denver in 2006. Dennison later worked under Kubiak as OC in Houston and was the Bills’ OC in 2017. The former Broncos linebacker has been an NFL assistant since Mike Shanahan began his HC tenure in Denver in 1995.

This marks the second time in four years the Vikings have needed to replace their O-line coach in July. Tony Sparano‘s death in July 2018 forced Minnesota to rearrange its staff. Dennison became Sparano’s full-time replacement months later, also working as the team’s run-game coordinator.

Staff Notes: Dennison, Cards, Falcons, Titans

February 6th, 2020 at 8:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

After two players filed grievances against the Jets in recent months, the franchise has an issue with former offensive line coach Rick Dennison. Now on the Vikings’ staff, Dennison spent the 2018 season as the Jets’ O-line coach and run-game coordinator. A dispute about Dennison’s contract has emerged, with the New York Daily News’ Manish Mehta reporting in an expansive piece the Jets and their former assistant have been at odds for a year about his deal. Dennison wanted to stay on as Jets O-line coach, but then-new Jets HC Adam Gase replaced all of Todd Bowles‘ 2018 offensive staff.

The parties are at odds over a roughly $1MM payment. Previous Jets GM Mike Maccagnan, after informing Dennison he would not be on Gase’s 2019 staff, gave Dennison permission to pursue other jobs. The Jets then signed off on the ex-NFL OC receiving the money but subsequently changed their tune, Mehta adds. Gase told some he discussed with Dennison a move to the scouting staff, but Mehta notes no such discussion occurred. Unless the Jets and Dennison reach a settlement, a hearing at the league office is expected to take place this month.

The Jets saw both Luke Falk and Kelechi Osemele file grievances against the team during in the Gase-Joe Douglas regime’s early months. Add the Dennison matter to this interesting list.

Here is the latest from the coaching circuit:

Weeks after Jon Gruden brought in Rod Marinelli to take Brentson Buckner‘s job as defensive line coach, the longtime NFL assistant has another gig. Buckner will return to the Cardinals‘ coaching staff, the team announced. Buckner’s first major NFL coaching role came in Arizona; the former 12-year NFL defensive lineman spent all five years of Bruce Arians‘ run as the Cards’ D-line coach. He’ll reprise that role.
The Cardinals are making more staff changes. Former 49ers special teams coordinator Derius Swinton signed on to become the Cards’ assistant ST coach. After spending 2018 on the Lions’ staff, Swinton did not coach this past season. Additionally, Spencer Whipple will rise from the quality control level to assistant wideouts coach.
Mike Mularkey‘s retirement left a vacancy on the Falcons‘ staff. They filled it by promoting Ben Steele from offensive assistant to tight ends coach, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes. Steele spent five seasons with the Buccaneers — the final two as Tampa Bay’s tight ends coach — prior to joining Dan Quinn’s staff last year.
Jason Garrett will bring another ex-Cowboys assistant with him to the Giants. Stephen Brown will join Joe Judge‘s staff as an offensive assistant, according to Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan (on Twitter). Brown spent the past four seasons in Dallas, primarily working with the team’s running backs. Garrett previously hired ex-Cowboys staffers Marc Colombo as O-line coach and Derek Dooley as a senior offensive assistant.
The Titans are promoting multiple assistants. Formerly operating as defensive assistants, Scott Booker and Ryan Crow will respectively rise on Mike Vrabel‘s staff. Booker is the Titans’ new assistant special teams coach, and Crow will now coach Tennessee’s safeties under new secondary coach Anthony Midget.

Vikings Hire Rick Dennison

February 9th, 2019 at 3:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

Previously rumored to be following Gary Kubiak to Minnesota, Rick Dennison made it official. After a lengthy delay, the Vikings announced Dennison will serve as their offensive line coach.

Dennison became connected to this role when Kubiak accepted an assistant head coach position with the Vikings, but the Jets and Packers expressed interest in Dennison. The former Texans, Broncos and Bills OC coached the Jets’ offensive linemen last season.

The 2019 season will mark Dennison’s 18th season on staff with Kubiak, whose return as the Broncos’ OC was scuttled due to wanting to bring former Denver assistants Dennison and Brian Pariani — now the Vikings’ tight ends coach — back to Denver as part of his offensive staff. The Broncos preferred Mike Munchak be their offensive line coach instead and ended up going in that direction, severing ties with Kubiak.

Dennison, who will also serve as Minnesota’s run game coordinator, worked with the Broncos from 1995-2009 and again from 2015-16. The Bills fired him as OC after the 2017 season. This will be a key position gig for the 60-year-old coach, with the Vikings’ struggles up front playing a key role in the team missing the playoffs after it entered last season as a Super Bowl contender.

Previous Vikings offensive line coach Andrew Janocko will stay on staff. He will now work under Dennison as assistant O-line coach, the Vikings announced. Janocko served as Minnesota’s assistant O-line coach in 2017, serving under Tony Sparano. After Sparano’s 2018 death, the Vikings promoted Janocko.

The team also announced Drew Petzing will have a new title, rising from assistant quarterbacks coach to head wideouts coach. Petzing served as Minnesota’s assistant receivers coach from 2016-17.

NFC North Notes: Packers, Vikings, Bears

January 23rd, 2019 at 8:54pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Packers will not be hiring Dolphins special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Green Bay was reportedly one of five teams with interest in Rizzi, who also holds the title of assistant head coach in Miami, but the two sides weren’t able to come to an agreement. Per Silverstein, Rizzi’s price tag is believed to be “high,” but he’s still expected to land with another club in the near future. The Dolphins would like to retain Rizzi (whom they interviewed for head coach), but they figure to install an all-new staff under presumptive head coach Brian Flores, so it’s unclear if there is still a fit in South Beach.

Here’s more from the NFC North:

Like the Packers, the Vikings expressed interest in hiring Rizzi, but they’ve since gone in another direction. Minnesota has hired Rizzi’s assistant in Miami, Marwan Maalouf, as their new special teams coach, tweets Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio. Maalouf served as the Colts’ special teams coach in 2012 before joining Miami the following season. He’s replacing Mike Priefer, who left the Vikings to take the Browns’ ST job. Last year, the Vikings ranked 20th in Football Outsiders’ special teams metrics, while the Dolphins were one spot behind at No. 21.
Rick Dennison preferred to stay on as the Jets‘ offensive line coach under new head coach Adam Gase, but New York instead hired Frank Pollack to guide their front five. However, both the Vikings and Packers remain “strong possibilities” for Dennison, per Marvez (Twitter link). Dennison had been expected to immediately follow Gary Kubiak — who was recently hired as a Vikings’ offensive advisor — to Minnesota, but that union hasn’t yet happened. Green Bay, meanwhile, has already hired Adam Stenavich as its offensive line coach, so Dennison would come aboard in a different position.
Early reports suggested the Packers were interested in retaining incumbent tight ends coach Brian Angelichio, but Green Bay has instead hired Falcons quality control/assistant offensive line coach Justin Outten as their new TEs coach, tweets Silverstein. Angelichio was one of a few assistants that was expected to stick around under new Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur, but things must have changed over the past several weeks. Outten, for his part, joined Atlanta as an intern in 2016, and was coaching in the high school ranks as recently as 2015.
The Bears hired former Colts defensive coordinator Ted Monachino last week, and now Chicago has formally announced his title. Monachino will serve as a senior defensive assistant/outside linebackers coach under defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano, who previously employed Monachino in both Indianapolis and Baltimore.

Packers Notes: Staff, Jefferson, Dennison

January 16th, 2019 at 9:14pm CST by Dallas Robinson

New Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is interested in Dolphins assistant head coach/offense Shawn Jefferson, reports Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter links). If hired, Jefferson would likely join Green Bay as receivers coach, a role for for which Jets WRs coach Karl Dorrell has already interviewed. The Packers allowed their former wideouts coach — David Raih — to join the Cardinals’ new staff earlier this offseason. Jefferson, meanwhile, started his coaching career in 2006 with the Lions before moving on to Tennessee in 2013 and Miami in 2016.

Here’s more from Green Bay:

The 49ers have granted the Packers permission to interview Adam Stenavich for their offensive line coach vacancy, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link). Stenavich, currently San Francisco’s assistant OL coach, joined the 49ers in 2017 after spending time in the NCAA ranks with Michigan, Northern Arizona, and San Jose State. Green Bay is on the hunt for a new offensive line coach after allowing James Campen, who’d been with the franchise since 2007, to take an assistant head coach/OL job with the Browns.
In addition to Stenavich, Green Bay has interest in longtime NFL offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Rick Dennison, tweets Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Dennison has long been a Gary Kubiak disciple, but surprisingly hasn’t followed him to Minnesota, where Kubiak is now an offensive advisor. Indeed, Dennison’s presence may have been a primary reason for Kubiak not becoming the Broncos’ OC, as Josina Anderson of ESPN.com indicated last week (via Twitter). Dennison spent 2017-18 with the Bills and Jets, respectively.
The Packers will also interview Redskins linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti for the same role, tweets Grant Paulsen of NBC Sports Washington. Olivadotti, 45, has essentially been a Redskins lifer: he joined the club in 2000 as a defensive quality control coach, and has worked for the team in various roles ever since, save for a 2011-13 stint at the University of Georgia. He’s familiar with LaFleur, as the two worked together in the nation’s capital in 2010 while LaFleur was Washington’s quarterbacks coach.
LaFleur will retain incumbent defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery and running backs coach Ben Sirmans, per Demovsky. At present, it appears Montgomery, Sirmans, defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, and tight ends coach Brian Angelichio will be the only holdovers from previous head coach Mike McCarthy‘s staff. However, it’s unclear if Montgomery and Angelichio will remain in their current roles or take on new responsibilities.
Despite spending the 2018 campaign as the Titans’ offensive coordinator, LaFleur will not bring any members of the Tennessee staff to Green Bay, tweets Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com.

Coaching Rumors: Rizzi, Dennison, Browns

January 14th, 2019 at 9:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Darren Rizzi interviewed for the Dolphins coaching job that is likely to go to Brian Flores, but the special teams coordinator is a coveted commodity around the league. The Packers are set to interview him, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Miami wants to retain Rizzi, who has been with the team throughout the 2010s, but has given him permission to seek employment elsewhere. That may soon prompt an extensive interview circuit. Five teams are interested in bringing him aboard, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets. The Vikings look to be one of those. Rizzi, 48, has only coached for one NFL franchise. His pre-Dolphins gigs were college jobs in the northeast, including a one-season stay (2008) as Rhode Island’s head coach.

As week three of many teams’ offseason begins, here is the latest from the coaching circuit:

Todd Monken‘s rise to Buccaneers play-caller earned him interest in teams’ OC jobs. He ended up landing with the Browns, but the other recent play-caller on this staff will call Cleveland’s plays next season. Freddie Kitchens will be the game-day director for the Browns’ offense next season, Pat McManamon of ESPN.com notes (on Twitter). This won’t be too new for Monken, who spent the first two seasons as Bucs OC watching Dirk Koetter call plays.
The Vikings announced Klint Kubiak (quarterbacks coach) and Brian Pariani (tight ends) are following Gary Kubiak to Minnesota, with the latter’s official title being assistant head coach/offensive advisor. Expected to be part of the Gary Kubiak gang getting back together up north, Rick Dennison was not included in this announcement. But Mike Klis of 9News notes the former Broncos and Bills OC is indeed believed to be part of the next Vikings staff (Twitter link). When Kubiak agreed to reprise his longtime role as Broncos OC, he wanted Dennison to oversee the team’s offensive line concepts, per Klis. The Broncos’ pursuit of Mike Munchak overruled this, and Dennison — the Jets’ O-line coach in 2018 — could be set to have a role in aiding the Vikings’ blockers next season.
Speaking of Munchak, the Broncos went beyond their usual offensive line coach budget to bring him over from Pittsburgh, Klis notes (on Twitter). Munchak, who has coached for just two franchises (the Oilers/Titans and Steelers), has family in the area.
The Steelers promoted Shaun Sarrett to replace Munchak as their O-line coach, the team announced. Sarrett had previously served as the team’s assistant offensive line coach. He has been with the Steelers for seven seasons, helping instruct their offensive linemen for most of that time.
After the Steelers let running backs coach James Saxon go, he will move to Arizona. The Cardinals are hiring Saxon to coach their running backs, Aditi Kinkabwala of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). He will replace Kirby Wilson and attempt to revive Arizona’s No. 32-ranked ground game. Saxon has 19 years’ experience coaching running backs in the NFL — the past five with the Steelers, where he oversaw Le’Veon Bell‘s rise and James Conner and Jaylen Samuels‘ quality replacement efforts — and should help rookie NFL coach Kliff Kingsbury.
Kris Kocurek will move from south Florida to the Bay Area, shifting from the Dolphins’ defensive line coach to the same role with the 49ers, Adam Caplan of Sirius XM tweets. Kocurek, 40, was the Lions’ D-line coach for nine seasons prior to moving to Miami.

Vikings To Hire Gary Kubiak

January 14th, 2019 at 4:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

Gary Kubiak will not return to an offensive coordinator role in 2019. Instead, he will take a job with the Vikings as an offensive advisor, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

He was linked to a Minnesota role earlier Monday, and his son’s new position likely played a key role. Klint Kubiak is expected to become the Vikings’ quarterbacks coach, Schefter reports.

This will be Gary Kubiak’s first time on the sidelines in a non-HC role since he was the 2014 Ravens’ OC. He will undoubtedly help OC Kevin Stefanski, whose first NFL play-calling experience came when he was promoted late this season to his current role.

Stefanski is close with Klint Kubiak, per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). They worked together when Klint was part of the Vikings’ staffs in 2013-14 as a quality control coach. Gary Kubiak once wanted to bring Stefanski to Denver, per Schefter (on Twitter), but they will pair up in Minneapolis instead.

This also represents a key turning point on the 2019 coaching carousel. Less than a week ago, Kubiak was expected to return to the Broncos’ coaching staff as their offensive coordinator, teaming with new HC Vic Fangio. But conflicts, centering around personnel, scuttled that move. And it will end up sending Kubiak out of Denver, where he held his “dream job” and became a Super Bowl-winning coach.

Interestingly, the two assistants Kubiak reportedly wanted to bring back to Denver, per 9News’ Mike Klis, will follow him to Minnesota. Former Broncos OC Rick Dennison and ex-Denver tight ends coach Brian Pariani will be part of the Vikings’ staff next season, Alex Marvez of Sirius XM tweets, adding that Kubiak’s title is expected to be something along the lines of “assistant head coach/offense.” With Kubiak influencing staff moves to this degree, it looks like he is going to have a key voice for how the Vikings proceed next season. And the Vikings’ 2019 offensive staff will look a lot like the 2016 Broncos’ did.

These moves may well be based around Kirk Cousins. Mike Shanahan drafted Cousins and championed him as a future starter, though Cousins’ time realizing his former coach’s vision came under Jay Gruden. But Shanahan and Kubiak feature nearly identical offensive systems, making Kubiak-to-Minnesota a natural fit.

At 31, Klint Kubiak is a few months older than Cousins. He worked with quarterbacks in Denver for the past three seasons, the first under his father and most recent two when Gary Kubiak was part of the Broncos’ front office. Dennison served as Kubiak’s Denver OC from 2015-16 but was relieved of that job in Buffalo after the 2017 season. He coached the Jets’ offensive line last season.

Jets To Hire Ex-Bills OC Rick Dennison

January 26th, 2018 at 2:39pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets are expected to hire former Bills offensive coordinator Rick Dennison as their new run-game coordinator/offensive line coach, a league source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News first reported the Jets’ interest in hiring Dennison.

Dennison was canned by Buffalo earlier this month after just one season as the team’s OC. The Bills’ offense was inconsistent, but Dennison inherited a pretty rocky situation at quarterback. On the plus side, the Bills did finish sixth in rushing yards per game (126.1).

The Jets see Dennison as the answer for their run game woes, but the team’s backfield figures to look pretty different in 2018. Technically speaking, Matt Forte is under contract for another year, but the team can save $3MM and eat just $1MM of dead money if he is released. Bilal Powell should be back, but the Jets will need at least one fleet-footed rusher to pair with him. Dennison also has his work cut out for him on the O-Line – the Jets ranked just 27th in adjusted sack rate and 29th in adjusted line yards last year.

Jets Interested In Rick Dennison

January 24th, 2018 at 5:41pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jets announced today that they’ve fired offensive line coach Steve Marshall, and the club may already have a replacement lined up. New York has reached out to former Bills offensive coordinator Rick Dennison in relation to their offensive line coach/run game coordinator vacancy, according to Manish Mehtha of the New York Daily News.

Dennison, a longtime NFL coach and play-caller, was fired earlier this month after spending only a single season as Buffalo’s OC. He hasn’t generated any other known interest, but he’d add experience to a Jets coaching staff that will continue rebuilding a young roster in 2018. Dennison also enjoys a relationship with new New York offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates, as the two overlapped with the Broncos from 2006-08.

If Dennison does land with the Jets, he’ll take over an offensive line that struggled immensely last season. New York’s front five ranked just 27th in adjusted sack rate and 29th in adjusted line yards a year ago, and could be playing a new center in 2018. Wesley Johnson, who started 15 games for Gang Green last season, will hit unrestricted free agency in March.

In other Jets staff news, New York is hiring former Titans coach Steve Jackson as their new assistant defensive backs coach, per Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com.

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