Rick Dennison


Rick Dennison is an American football coach and former player who is currently the offensive line coach and run game coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. An assistant in the NFL since 1995, he served as offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, and Buffalo Bills, 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. His father George was the 16th President of The University of Montana from 1990 to 2010. The younger Dennison starred in football, baseball, and basketball at Rocky Mountain High School where he graduated in 1976.

College career

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 Merrill-Gheen Award 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.

Professional playing career

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

Professional coaching career

He was the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos between 2006 and 2008, after coaching the team's offensive line from 2001 to 2005, special teams from 1997 to 2000 and working as an offensive assistant from 1995 to 1996. During a year off in 1993 for personal reasons, "Rico" assisted Suffield Academy in a successful New England football championship, then returned to Denver to resume coaching for the Broncos. Dennison was the offensive coordinator of the Houston Texans 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. Both he and Kubiak were appointed quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator respectively of the Baltimore Ravens on January 27, 2014. Dennison returned to the position of offensive coordinator with the Broncos following the hiring of Kubiak as head coach in January 2015. 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.
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. On January 19, 2017, he was hired by the Buffalo Bills to serve on Sean McDermott's staff as offensive coordinator. 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.