Rebels' Coaching Spotlight: Offensive Coordinator Corey Dennis Under the Microscope

Corey Dennis will be UNLV's first offensive coordinator in the Dan Mullen era.  He has held positions at various programs, helping multiple teams compete for championships. Let's take a look at his history and see why Mullen thought he was the right man for the job.

Dennis made a name for himself during nine seasons at Ohio State, the last five of which he served as quarterbacks coach. He coached the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year CJ Stroud, Justin Fields, and the late Dwayne Haskins.  

Dennis helped Ohio State win four Big Ten Championships, while also winning the 2016 Fiesta Bowl, the 2018 Cotton Bowl, the 2020 Fiesta Bowl, and the 2022 Rose Bowl.

Dennis was named to the 247Sports 30-under-30 list in 2021. He served as the senior quality control coach at Ohio State for two seasons (2018-2019). In this role, he worked with Ohio State's receivers and quarterbacks on game planning, practice planning, and daily organization.

During his time with the Buckeyes, Dennis always coached one of the best-scoring offenses in the country.  35.7 points per game was enough for 28th in 2015.   In 2016, they improved to 39.4 points per game, 13th in the country.    

By 2017, Dennis had coached the Buckeyes to be on the short list of elite offenses.  41.1 points per game made them the sixth-highest-scoring offense in the country, worthy of their fifth-place finish in the final poll.  J.K. Dobbins combined to rush for 2201 yards that season and 19 touchdowns. The receiving core, led by notable receivers Austin Mack and Parris Campbell, combined for 925 yards and five touchdowns. However, perhaps Johnnie Dixon had the most impressive season. He had only 18 receptions. However, he turned that into 422 yards and eight touchdowns.

In total, Dennis' tenure at Ohio State lasted from 2015-2023, as he added several elite offensive outputs to his resume.

Dennis coached at Tulsa most recently as the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2024. Despite a poor 3-9 record, the passing game was respectable, averaging 238.6 yards per game.

As Dennis prepares for his first season as an offensive coordinator, he will once again be helped by a highly successful head coach. Like Urban Meyer, Dan Mullen has achieved tremendous success at the FBS level. Rebels' fans are hopeful that Dennis has learned from Meyer and Mullen and will translate that into an elite offense this season. As we wait to see what fruit this season bears, keep tuning into Sports Illustrated for more updates on UNLV.