Rick Dennison

Games played:	128
Quarterback sacks:	6.5
Interceptions:	4

Rick Dennison
Minnesota Vikings
Position:	Senior offensive advisor
Personal information
Born:	June 22, 1958 (age 63); Kalispell, Montana
Height:	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:	Fort Collins (CO) Rocky Mountain
College:	Colorado State
Undrafted:	1982
Career history
As a player:
	Denver Broncos (1982–1990);
As a coach:
	Denver Broncos (1995–1996); Offensive assistant; Denver Broncos (1997–2000); Special teams coordinator; Denver Broncos (2001–2005); Offensive line coach; Denver Broncos (2006–2008); Offensive coordinator; Denver Broncos (2009); Offensive line coach; Houston Texans (2010–2013); Offensive coordinator; Baltimore Ravens (2014); Quarterbacks coach; Denver Broncos (2015–2016); Offensive coordinator; Buffalo Bills (2017); Offensive coordinator; New York Jets (2018); Offensive line coach & run game coordinator; Minnesota Vikings (2019–2020); Offensive line coach & run game coordinator; Minnesota Vikings (2021–Present); Senior offensive advisor;
Career highlights and awards
	As coach 3× Super Bowl Champion (XXXII, XXXIII, 50);
Career NFL statistics
Games played:
Games played:	128
Quarterback sacks:	6.5
Interceptions:	4
	Player stats at NFL.com
	Coaching stats at PFR

Rick Steven Dennison^[1] (born June 22, 1958) is an American football coach and former player who is the current senior offensive advisor for the Minnesota Vikings. He was the offensive line coach and run game coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) from 2019-2020. An assistant in the NFL since 1995, he served as offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos (2006–2008, 2015-2016), Houston Texans (2010–2013), and Buffalo Bills (2017), and served as quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens in 2014. He was the special teams coach for the Super Bowl Champion Broncos in 1997 and 1998. A linebacker who spent his entire NFL playing career in Denver from 1982 to 1990, he appeared in Super Bowls XXI, XXII, and XXIV.

Early years[]

Dennison was born in Kalispell, Montana, on June 22, 1958.^[2] His father George was the 16th President of The University of Montana from 1990 to 2010.^[3] The younger Dennison starred in football, baseball, and basketball at Rocky Mountain High School where he graduated in 1976.^[4]

Playing career[]

College[]

Dennison attended Colorado State University where he was a football letterman for the Rams in 1976, 1978 and 1979. Wearing uniform number 83 and primarily a tight end for head coach Sark Arslanian, Dennison also saw some action as a wide receiver. He was both a second-team Academic All-American and the recipient of the as the university's most outstanding male scholar-athlete in his senior year. He earned a bachelor's and master's degree, both in civil engineering, in 1980 and 1982 respectively.^[4]^[5]^[6]

National Football League[]

Dennison moved to linebacker when he entered the NFL. He played for the Denver Broncos from 1982 to 1990.

Coaching career[]

Early career[]

During a year off in 1993 for personal reasons, "Rico" assisted Suffield Academy in a successful New England football championship.

Denver Broncos[]

Dennison began his coaching career as an offensive assistant for the Denver Broncos in 1995 and would serve in this role until 1996. In 1997, Dennison was promoted to special teams coordinator and would serve in this role for four seasons. In 2001, Dennison shifted to the offensive line coach of the Broncos. In 2006, Dennison was promoted to offensive coordinator of the Broncos and would serve in this role from 2006 to 2008.

Houston Texans[]

In 2010, Dennison was hired by the Houston Texans as their offensive coordinator and served in this position from 2010 to 2013. Dennison's move to Houston reunited him with Texans head coach Gary Kubiak, who was a teammate of his in Denver between 1983 and 1990 and a fellow Broncos assistant coach between 1995 and 2005, and who he succeeded as Broncos offensive coordinator in 2006. On January 6, 2013, the Chicago Bears announced that they would interview Dennison for their head coaching position.^[7]

Baltimore Ravens[]

Both Dennison and Kubiak were appointed quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator respectively of the Baltimore Ravens on January 27, 2014.

Denver Broncos (second stint)[]

In January 2015, Dennison returned to the position of offensive coordinator with the Broncos following the hiring of Kubiak as head coach.^[8] On February 7, 2016, Dennison was part of the Broncos coaching staff that won Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers by a score of 24–10.^[9]

After the retirement of Kubiak following the 2016 season, Dennison was replaced by former San Diego Chargers head coach Mike McCoy as the Broncos' offensive coordinator.^[10]

Buffalo Bills[]

On January 19, 2017, he was hired by the Buffalo Bills to serve on Sean McDermott's staff as offensive coordinator.^[11] On January 12, 2018, Dennison was relieved of duty as offensive coordinator after one season that saw the Bills offense finish 29th overall despite making the postseason.^[12]

New York Jets[]

On January 27, 2018, Dennison was hired by the New York Jets as their offensive line coach and run game coordinator under head coach Todd Bowles.

Minnesota Vikings[]

On February 8, 2019, Dennison was hired by the Minnesota Vikings as their offensive line coach and run game coordinator under head coach Mike Zimmer, replacing Clancy Barone and Andrew Janocko, who took over in place of Tony Sparano, who died prior to the 2018 season.^[13]

References[]

^ Denver Broncos 1981 Media Guide (profile on page 75). Retrieved January 23, 2021
^ Rick Dennison (biography) – Baltimore Ravens.
^ George M. Dennison (biography) – The International Heart Institute of Montana Foundation. Archived February 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Rick Dennison (biography) – Houston Texans.
^ Colorado State Football 2013 Media Guide.
^ Merrill-Gheen Trophy Award Winners – Colorado State University Athletics. Archived March 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
^ Sessler, Marc (January 6, 2013). "Chicago Bears to interview Texans OC Rick Dennison". National Football League. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
^ http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_27349930/gary-kubiak-adds-rick-dennison-brian-pariani-broncos
^ "Super Bowl 50 - Denver Broncos vs. Carolina Panthers - February 7th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
^ John Middlekauff [@JohnMiddlekauff] (January 11, 2017). "Vance Joseph wanted to hire Todd Downing as OC, that changed yesterday. Now Mike McCoy will be his OC in Denver per multiple sources" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ Carucci, Vic (January 20, 2017). "Bills hire Dennison as offensive coordinator". The Buffalo News.
^ Patra, Kevin (January 12, 2018). "Buffalo Bills fire OC Rick Dennison after one season". NFL.com.
^ Young, Lindsey (February 8, 2019). "5 Things to Know About New Vikings OL Coach Rick Dennison". www.vikings.com. Retrieved February 9, 2021.

External links[]

[1] Denver Broncos 1981 Media Guide (profile on page 75). Retrieved January 23, 2021

[2] Rick Dennison (biography) – Baltimore Ravens.

[3] George M. Dennison (biography) – The International Heart Institute of Montana Foundation. Archived February 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine

[houstontexansoc-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b Rick Dennison (biography) – Houston Texans.

[5] Colorado State Football 2013 Media Guide.

[6] Merrill-Gheen Trophy Award Winners – Colorado State University Athletics. Archived March 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine

[7] Sessler, Marc (January 6, 2013). "Chicago Bears to interview Texans OC Rick Dennison". National Football League. Retrieved January 6, 2013.

[8] ttp://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_27349930/gary-kubiak-adds-rick-dennison-brian-pariani-broncos

[9] "Super Bowl 50 - Denver Broncos vs. Carolina Panthers - February 7th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 31, 2017.

[10] John Middlekauff [@JohnMiddlekauff] (January 11, 2017). "Vance Joseph wanted to hire Todd Downing as OC, that changed yesterday. Now Mike McCoy will be his OC in Denver per multiple sources" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[11] Carucci, Vic (January 20, 2017). "Bills hire Dennison as offensive coordinator". The Buffalo News.

[12] Patra, Kevin (January 12, 2018). "Buffalo Bills fire OC Rick Dennison after one season". NFL.com.

[13] Young, Lindsey (February 8, 2019). "5 Things to Know About New Vikings OL Coach Rick Dennison". www.vikings.com. Retrieved February 9, 2021.

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show v t Denver Broncos Super Bowl XXXII champions
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Head coach: Mike Shanahan
Coaches: Frank Bush Barney Chavous Rick Dennison Ed Donatell Alex Gibbs Mike Heimerdinger Gary Kubiak Dwain Painter Brian Pariani Ricky Porter Greg Robinson Rick Smith John Teerlinck Bobby Turner

show v t Denver Broncos Super Bowl XXXIII champions
1 Jason Elam 6 Bubby Brister 7 John Elway (MVP) 14 Brian Griese 16 Tom Rouen 20 Tory James 21 Darrien Gordon 22 Vaughn Hebron 25 Darrius Johnson 26 Eric Brown 27 Steve Atwater 28 Tito Paul 29 Howard Griffith 30 Terrell Davis 31 Derek Loville 34 Tyrone Braxton 37 Anthony Lynn 39 Ray Crockett 42 Detron Smith 48 George Coghill 51 John Mobley 53 Bill Romanowski 54 Nate Wayne 56 Keith Burns 59 Glenn Cadrez 60 K. C. Jones 62 Dan Neil 63 David Diaz-Infante 66 Tom Nalen 69 Mark Schlereth 70 Trey Teague 72 Ernest Jones 73 Cyron Brown 74 Harry Swayne 77 Tony Jones 78 Matt Lepsis 79 Chris Banks 80 Rod Smith 82 Marcus Nash 83 Justin Armour 84 Shannon Sharpe 85 Willie Green 86 Byron Chamberlain 87 Ed McCaffrey 89 Dwayne Carswell 90 Neil Smith 91 Alfred Williams 93 Trevor Pryce 94 Keith Traylor 95 Marvin Washington 96 Harald Hasselbach 97 Mike Lodish 98 Maa Tanuvasa 99 Seth Joyner
Head coach: Mike Shanahan
Coaches: Frank Bush Barney Chavous Rick Dennison Ed Donatell Alex Gibbs Mike Heimerdinger Gary Kubiak Pat McPherson Brian Pariani Ricky Porter Greg Robinson Rick Smith John Teerlinck Bobby Turner

show v t Denver Broncos Super Bowl 50 champions
4 Britton Colquitt 8 Brandon McManus 10 Emmanuel Sanders 11 Jordan Norwood 12 Andre Caldwell 13 Trevor Siemian 14 Cody Latimer 15 Kyle Williams 16 Bennie Fowler 17 Brock Osweiler 18 Peyton Manning 20 Josh Bush 21 Aqib Talib 22 C. J. Anderson 23 Ronnie Hillman 25 Chris Harris Jr. 26 Darian Stewart 29 Bradley Roby 30 David Bruton 31 Omar Bolden 32 Ryan Murphy 33 Shiloh Keo 35 Kapri Bibbs 36 Kayvon Webster 37 Lorenzo Doss 39 Taurean Nixon 40 Juwan Thompson 43 T. J. Ward 46 Aaron Brewer 48 Shaquil Barrett 50 Zaire Anderson 51 Todd Davis 52 Corey Nelson 53 James Ferentz 54 Brandon Marshall 55 Lerentee McCray 56 Shane Ray 58 Von Miller (MVP) 59 Danny Trevathan 61 Matt Paradis 62 Dillon Day 65 Louis Vasquez 66 Kyle Roberts 67 Sam Brenner 68 Ryan Harris 69 Evan Mathis 70 Robert Myers 73 Max Garcia 74 Ty Sambrailo 75 Cameron Jefferson 76 Tyler Polumbus 78 Ryan Clady 79 Michael Schofield 80 Vernon Davis 81 Owen Daniels 82 Jeff Heuerman 84 Nick Kasa 85 Virgil Green 87 Jordan Taylor 88 Demaryius Thomas 90 Antonio Smith 91 Kenny Anunike 92 Sylvester Williams 94 DeMarcus Ware 95 Derek Wolfe 96 Vance Walker 97 Malik Jackson 98 Darius Kilgo 99 George Uko
Head coach: Gary Kubiak
Coaches: Clancy Barone Brian Callahan James Cregg Joe DeCamillis Rick Dennison Chris Gould Reggie Herring Greg Knapp Bill Kollar Marc Lubick Fred Pagac Brian Pariani Wade Phillips Eric Studesville Tyke Tolbert Joe Woods