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EAGAN, Minn. – After refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, Rick Dennison is absent as assistant coach for the Minnesota Vikings, sources told ESPN on Friday.
Dennison, who had served as the Vikings’ offensive line coach and game coordinator for the past two seasons, would be the first NFL coach to leave his team after choosing not to receive a vaccine.
The vaccine is mandatory for all Level 1 staff, including coaches, front office managers, equipment managers and scouts. Players are not required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine but will face strict protocols during training camp and throughout the season that vaccinated players may forgo.
In a memo released by the league this summer, the NFL said any unvaccinated Level 1 staff member must provide a valid religious or medical reason for not receiving the vaccine. The loss of Level 1 status prohibits coaches from being on the field and in meeting rooms and from having direct interactions with players.
Phil Rauscher has been promoted to assistant offensive line coach to take over Dennison’s job, sources have told ESPN. The Vikings also hired Ben Steele, who was recently hired by Auburn as a special teams analyst, to fill the position Rauscher had held since 2019.
Dennison’s departure comes at a time of transition for the Viking offensive, which will be guided by first-year offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Kubiak, 34, was promoted to fill the role his father, Gary, held in Minnesota during the 2020 season.
With 27 years of experience as a coach in the NFL, Dennison was seen as a vital part of helping close the gap for young Kubiak, given his background in the call to the run and his knowledge. of the scheme the Vikings have been using since the 2019 season.
The Vikings were one of the league’s leading running teams in 2020 behind Dalvin Cook, who became the first Minnesota player to run for at least 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns in a season. Cook was responsible for 30.5% of the Vikings’ scrimmage yards, the second-highest rate in the NFL behind Tennessee’s Derrick Henry (33.8), according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Dennison, 63, has worked with Gary Kubiak for more than three decades in Denver (1995-2009, 2015-16), Houston (2010-13) and Baltimore (2014). Prior to joining the Vikings in 2019, Dennison was an offensive line coach / running game coordinator for the New York Jets in 2018.
Rauscher is entering his seventh season as an NFL coach after joining the Vikings in 2020. He coached with Dennison on the Broncos staff during the 2015 and 2016 seasons and was the Washington offensive line coach. in 2019.
Steele was on several NFL teams as a tight end from 2001 to 2007, most notably in Houston under Gary Kubiak. He started working in the NFL in 2013 as an offensive quality control coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a position he held until 2016. Steele was then promoted to tight ends coach for the Buccaneers. before moving on to the Atlanta Falcons, where he was offensive. assistant in 2019 and tight ends coach in 2020. He was hired by Auburn earlier this year.
The Vikings will hold their first practice at training camp on Wednesday.
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