What Rick Dennison Brings to Raiders

The offensive line is a key area Las Vegas must improve, and Dennison has a track record of constructing successful run games. What should Raiders fans know about Dennison as he takes over at a pivotal point for the offensive line? 

Let’s break down his career and see how he can improve the Raiders’ offensive line and offense as a whole. 

What Rick Dennison brings to the Raiders

Dennison started his coaching career in 1995 with the Denver Broncos as an offensive assistant. He has served as an offensive coordinator for the Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and Houston Texans. His specialty is crafting excellent run games, and he has won four Super Bowls during his coaching career. Dennison utilizes an outside zone rushing attack, where the offensive line blocks as one unit and allows the running back to get to the perimeter. 

That is a major philosophy for Kubiak, who, in tandem with Dennison, helped the Seahawks develop their offensive line and crush teams at the line of scrimmage all the way to a Lombardi Trophy. 

The Seahawks finished 11th in the NFL in rushing yards per game (123.3) and 13th in rushing success rate. While those numbers don’t blow anyone away, Seattle imposed its will on opponents in the postseason because of its ability to run the football. 

Dennison has been a part of several successful running teams during his career, including the Minnesota Vikings (where he worked with Kubiak) from 2019 to 2021. He has also spent time with Kubiak’s father, Super Bowl-winning head coach Gary Kubiak. 

The addition of Dennison should be beneficial for promising young running back Ashton Jeanty, who should thrive in the wide-zone scheme. Jeanty is tough to tackle when he gets to the outside, and he should have plenty of those opportunities in this offense. 

The Raiders must closely evaluate their offensive line, as they have some good young talent, but that unit played poorly as a whole last season. Dennison should be able to get much better play out of that group. 

The Dennison hire for the Raiders should be exciting and raise the floor for the offensive line, something that has not been the case in the last few years. If the Raiders can improve in the trenches, the offense can improve overall.

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