Rick Dennison brings experience to Las Vegas Raiders offensive line

Dec 29, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Las Vegas Raiders offensive tackle Kolton Miller (74) looks on against the New Orleans Saints during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images The Raiders hired Rick Dennison as the team’s off

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What is the story about?

The Raiders hired Rick Dennison as the team’s offensive line coach back in February, a move that came with a little question. Denison wasn’t the top choice for the Raiders OL coach position, with Las Vegas attempting to hire others before ultimately deciding to retain Denison as their offensive line coach. HC Klint Kubiak has deep ties to Dennison, and Dennison has similar ties to the entire Kubiak family. The 67 year old was expected to join the Raiders staff in 2026, in some form of senior advisor

role, however Las Vegas ultimately added him as the offensive line coach, a role he’ll serve for at least this season if the team decides to add others into the mix as well.

The Raiders OL is coming off a season where they ranked just 27th overall, including 31st in the run & 25th in the pass. The team decided to let Dylan Parham walk, and signed free agent Tyler Linderbaum to anchor the center position. Additionally, the team returns Kolton Miller & Jackson Powers-Johnson from injury, drafted Trey Zuhn in the third, and signed guard Spencer Burford.

Role: Offensive Line Coach

Previous Role: Run Game Coordinator & Offensive Advisor

Previous Team: Seattle Seahawks

Age: 67

Experience

Dennison spence 10 seasons in the NFL as a linebacker, after going undrafted in the 1980 draft out of Colorado State as a TE he would go on to play with the Bills (1980), Broncos (1981), Bills (1982), and Broncos (1982-1990) before calling it a career after 128 games, 4 interceptions, 7 FF, 11 sacks, and 5 FR (tackles, TFL, and PBU were not tracked yet). He began his coaching career with the Broncos from 1995-2009 serving as an offensive assistant, ST coordinator, OL coach (2001-2005), offensive coordinator (2006-2008), and then offensive line coach again in 2009. Dennison would depart Denver to Houston as their offensive coordinator from 2010 till 2013.

In 2014, Dennison joined the Ravens as their QB coach, before re-joining the Broncos as the teams offensive coordinator in 2015-2016. Denison would take that same role to the Bills in 2017, before settling in as an offensive line coach with the Jets in 2018. He’d head to Minnesota in 2019 where he served as the teams OL coach & run game coordinator till 2021. In 2022 he worked as the head coach at Academy Force HS in Minnesota, before joining Klint Kubiak in Seattle as an assistant in 2024, heading to Seattle as the teams run game coordinator in 2025, and finally landing in Las Vegas as an OL coach again. Dennison is a 4x Super Bowl Champion as a coach.

*I won’t be touching on experience more than a decade old, for any of these breakdowns unless it’s a very key thing to note*

Denver Broncos (2015 – 2016) – OC

The 2015 Broncos, a team if you’re a Raiders fan with this coaching staff, you should be familiar with. As a team they ranked 16 in total offense, 14th in passing, 17th in rushing, and 19th in points per game. Additionally, the Broncos ranked 10th in rush yards/attempt, 11th in touchdowns, and 3rd in fumbles. They allowed 39 sacks, which ranked 20th in the NFL. In 2016, the Broncos ranked 27th in total offense, 22nd in passing, 27th in rushing, and 24th in points per game. The team ranked 28th in rush yards/game, 28th in touchdowns, and 28th in fumbles while allowing 40 sacks the 22nd ranked unit.

The 2015 Broncos were carried on the backs of an elite defense, but Dennison saw receivers Demaryius Thomas & Emmanuel Sanders log over 1000 yards with Thomas eclipsing 1300. Additionally the teams three tight ends all combined for over 850 yards and 4 touchdowns. Running backs Ronnie Hillman & CJ Anderson both eclipsed 750 yards, though neither went over 1000 yards. The team saw their QB play split between Peyton Manning (2249 yards, 9 TD, 17 INT), and Brock Osweiler (1967 yards, 10 TD, 6 INT). In 2016, Denver saw Peyton Manning retire, and the reigns turned to Trevor Siemian who tossed a 59% completion rate, 3400 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Thomas & Sanders both went above 1000 yards but no other player crossed 265 yards on the season. Injuries set back the running game, but the team leader Devontae Booker logged just 612 yards and a 3.5 yards/per carry.

Buffalo Bills (2017) – OC

After parting ways with Buffalo, Dennison joined Sean McDermott in Buffalo, where his unit ranked 22nd in points per game, 29th in total offense, 31st in passing, and 5th in rushing. Additionally, the team allowed 47 sacks which ranked 22nd in the NFL, while their 4.2 YPC ranked 14th in the league. Dennison was handcuffed to Tyrod Taylor as his QB, with Taylor leading the NFL in interception rate at 1%, a mark that hasn’t been reached more than twice since. Additionally, Nathan Peterman had a game with 5 INT under Dennison. The Bills saw their leading receiver eclipse just 550 yards, with three players going above 400 on the season. LeSean McCoy anchored the backfield with 1138 yards, 6 TD, but just 3.9 yards/per carry.

New York Jets (2018) – OL Coach & Run Game Coordinator

Dennison was let go by the Bills, and he joined the Jets in 2018, this time in the role that suited him best going forward, a run game coordinator/OL coach. The Jets ranked 26th in rush yards/game, 28th in yards/attempt, 24th in EPA/play, and 27th in rushing first downs. As a passing unit they allowed 37 sacks (14th) and the 6.6% sack rate was 15th. Additionally, the unit ranked 17th overall between the run and pass, and ranked 11th in pressure rate allowed, 14th in QB hits allowed, and 14th in time to pressure. The unit saw some injuries on the interior but mainly had three consistent starters with LT Kelvin Beachum (3 sacks, 3 hits, 2.7% pressure rate, right guard Brian Winters (5 sacks, 2 hits, 3.3% pressure rate), & RT Brandon Shell (3 sacks, 4 hits, 2.9% pressure rate).

Additionally, guard Spencer Long allowed 4 sacks, 3 hits, and a 3.4% pressure rate with James Carpenter allowing a sack, 4 hits, and 2.7% pressure rate. Backup center Jonothan Harrison allowed just 2 hits and a 1.9% pressure rate. Winters 3.3% pressure rate was the best of his career since 2014. Beachum continued to play for the next 6 seasons and his 2019 pressure rate was the worst mark of his career till 2023 and 3rd worse in his career overall. Spencer Long saw the best pressure rate of his career in 2018, the same with Brandon Shell.

Minnesota Vikings (2019-2020) – OL Coach & Run Game Coordinator

In 2019, Dennison rejoined the Kubiak’s in Minnesota, as the teams OL coach & run game coordinator. They ranked 6th in total rushing offense, 11th in yards/attempt, 7th in EPA, and 6th in touchdowns. The unit allowed just 28 sacks good for 7th in the NFL & a 5.7% sack rate which ranked 8th in the league. They also ranked 8th in QB hits allowed, 5th in pressure rate, and 4th in time to pressure. The team was anchored by LG Pat Elflein (8 sacks, 3 hits, 4.4% pressure rate), LT Riley Reiff (6 sacks, 5 hits, 3.7% pressure rate), C Garrett Bradbury (4 sacks, 2 hits, 3% pressure rate), RG Josh Kline (s acks, 2 hits, 2.8% pressure rate), and RT Brian O’Neill (2 sacks, 5 hits, 2.3% pressure rate) with all of them playing over 93% of the teams offensive line snaps.

O’Neil has since gone on to be one of the leagues top right tackles, and his two seasons with Dennison came in 2019/2020 his second and third in the NFL, which is 2.3% pressure rate in 2019 the 3rd best mark of his career. Kline saw the best pressure rate of his career in 2019, before retiring at the seasons end, his 2 sacks allowed tied a career low. Bradbury struggled as a first round pick, and would go on to develop throughout the middle stages of his career allowing a 3% pressure rate and 4 sacks in both 2019 & 2020. Reiff saw the 4th worst pressure rate of his career in 2019, and his 6 sacks allowed tied a career high. Elflein saw the 2nd worst season of his career in 2019, and his 8 sacks allowed was a career high. RB Dalvin Cook saw his 2nd highest career yards, touchdowns, and attempts, in 2019 on the way to his first pro bowl.

In 2020, the Vikings ranked 5th in rush yards/game, 7th in touchdowns, 4th in touchdowns, 3rd in EPA. They allowed 39 sacks, which was 20th in the NFL & their 7% sack rate was 23rd. Additionally, the unit saw a ranking of 17th in pressure rate, 20th in time to pressure, and 18th in QB hit rate. RB Dalvin Cook logged the best season of his career with 1557 yards, 16 touchdowns, 5.1 YPC, and 312 attempts all career highs. The Vikings OL remained anchored by Brian O’Neill & Riley Reiff with Reiff rebounding in 2020 after a rough 2019. O’Neill continued his development in a top tackle in the NFL, and Bradburry remained an average to below average starting center. The team saw rookie Ezra Cleveland play 622 snaps allowing 5 sacks, 8 hits, and a 4.2% pressure rate, while veteran Dakota Dozier logged a career high 1083 snaps allowing 6 sacks, 9 hits, and a 4.6% pressure rate. Dozier would reitre after the 2020 season. Cleveland has since developed into a consistent guard in the NFL, with his rookie season in 2020 being the most sacks & worst pressure rate of his career (he allowed 21 QB hits in 2022 somehow with a 4% pressure rate).

Minnesota Vikings (2021) – Run Game Coordinator

Dennison transitioned away from position coaching in 2021, and he held the role of run game coordinator. The team ranked 17th in yards/game, 28th in touchdowns, 20th in yards/attempt, 17th in EPA, 14th in forced missed tackles, and their OL run game ranking dropped from 8th in 2019, to 6th in 2020, but 18th in 2021 with similar starters to that of the 2020 season. Dalvin Cook did regress, and played just 13 of the 17 games with 249 attempts, 1159 yards, and 6 TD on 4.7 yards/attempt. His backup Alexander Mattison logged 3.7 YPC with 491 yards and 3 scores off 134 attempts.

New Orleans Saints (2024) – Senior Assistant

After a few years off, Dennison rejoined Klint Kubiak in 2024 with the Saints.

Seattle Seahawks (2025) – Run Game Coordinator

Dennison followed Kubiak to Seattle in 2025, and he held the role of run game coordinator. Former Saints assistant John Benton held the OL coach position, and the unit ranked 4th in total run game blocking. As a rushing unit, they ranked 4th in EPA, 10th in yards/game, 10th in touchdowns, 24th in yards/attempt, 4th in attempts, and 11th in EPA. The Seahawks saw now Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker eclipse 1027 yards with 5 scores and 4.6 YPA, though he was underwhelming for parts of the season not being able to break through tackles and evade defenders as often as he had in the past. Walker was the catalyst for the Seahawks playoff run however with 65 attempts, 313 yards, 4 touchdowns, 4.8 YPA, and 17 first downs. Backup RB Zach Charbonnet suffered a torn ACL late in the season but logged 184 attempts, 730 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 4 yards an attempt.

Philosophy

Dennison has done well to develop blocking on the offensive line, with his units in Denver ranking highly, and his units also ranking highly while as an offensive coordinator. Similar to Kubiak, and given his history in the system as a coach, he’s a wide zone focused coach. Dennison values players who can get into space and move, have strength at the point of attack, and he prioritizes elite hand skills to pair with the athleticism. His OL have remained fairly healthy, a testament to how Dennison works to refine the mental aspects, more so than physical and limits high intensity reps in season throughout practice and camp. Additionally, Dennison has been quoted on the past about utilizing his background in engineering towards offensive lineman, comparing the two with minor details, and how the fundamentals all begin at the bottom and work upwards. Former players have also noted that Dennison is very keen on spending time with his unit, with Minnesota often holding extremely longer than usual meetings to help refine and go in depth.

In terms of pure running game, a role he’ll have in Las Vegas as well Dennison is focused on the boundary and concepts similar to that of the wide zone. He preaches an ability for backs to get into space and create opportunity for themselves, while also focusing heavily on the ability to get short yardage between the tackles.