Clayton: Dennison departs Vikings after refusing vaccine
Jul 23, 2021, 4:38 PM
One of the surprising stories in the NFL on Friday was the news out of Minnesota that offensive line coach Rick Dennison lost his job because he didn’t get vaccinated.
This doesn’t obvious apply to the Broncos, but it’s interesting because his success as an offensive line coach in Denver. Dennison played for the Broncos from 1982 to 1990 on the offensive line. He was a success as an undrafted player.
He coached in Denver from 1995 to 2009 on special teams and the offensive line. After a short stint Houston as offensive coordinator and Baltimore as the quarterbacks coach, he came back to be offensive coordinator in 2015 and 2016. He’s a good coach.
This is the second big blow to the Vikings coaching staff. Gary Kubiak retired in January. He was the offensive coordinator. Kubiak and Dennison were linked seemingly forever, Kubiak as the play caller and Dennison as the offensive line coach.
I contend a good offensive coach can be a team’s most important addition in an offseason. Like what Mike Munchak did with the Pittsburgh Steelers and with the Broncos. Over the next few days we will find out if more coaches who didn’t get vaccinated lose their roles.
