Why Rick Dennison Could Change the Raiders’ O-Line + 4 Quietly Important Hires

RAIDERS COACHING STAFF BREAKDOWN

The Raiders’ coaching staff is coming together — and the idea that Klint Kubiak would struggle to build a strong group in Las Vegas didn’t last very long. In our latest LIVE episode of the Silver & Black Sports Network Podcast, I break down every key assistant hired so far, what they bring schematically, and what these moves say about the identity this team is building. We connect the dots on the offensive and defensive hires, the common thread behind them, and why a few of these additions matter more than people realize — plus we wrap it up with a live Q&A with Raider Nation.

CRAZY NUMBERS

I’m not sure exactly what it counts for, but the Raiders got nearly 24 years younger on average at the three key coaching positions in just one offseason. In a division where Andy Reid is 67 and both Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton are 62, the Raiders suddenly find themselves on the right side of Father Time after hiring Klint Kubiak.

Sure, Reid has flirted with retirement rumors for a couple of years now and keeps coming back, and it feels like Harbaugh and Payton still have plenty left in the tank. But if the Raiders are right about Kubiak being the next great head coach in this league, they may have positioned themselves very well in the AFC West for the long haul.

DENNISON TO LEAD THE OFFENSIVE LINE

The Raiders officially named Rick Dennison their offensive line coach on Thursday, ending a few days of speculation about where he’d land on the staff. My read? He probably wasn’t Plan A at that specific position. It felt like the Raiders initially wanted him in more of a senior offensive advisor role, with John Benton likely being their top choice for O-line coach. But when Kubiak couldn’t pry Benton away from Seattle, they pivoted — and let’s be honest, Dennison is far from a bad fallback option.

Dennison brings 30 years of NFL coaching experience, including seven seasons as an offensive coordinator. That kind of résumé isn’t easy to find. And he hasn’t just been hanging around the league — he’s been part of some highly productive rushing attacks along the way. Most recently in Seattle, as run game coordinator and senior offensive advisor, he and Klint Kubiak helped flip the Seahawks from the 28th-ranked rushing offense in 2024 (95.7 yards per game) to the 10th-best unit (123.3 yards per game).

He did similar work in New Orleans, too. As a senior offensive assistant alongside Kubiak, he helped Alvin Kamara post a career-high 950 yards on 228 carries in just 14 games — and that was on a team that saw Derek Carr miss seven games and dealt with an injury-riddled offensive line. Go back to his Minnesota days, and you’ll see a consistent pattern: 1,000-yard backs and career years in offenses he was involved with.

And what about sacks? The Raiders gave up a league-high 64 last season. In 2019, when Dennison was the Vikings’ offensive line coach and run game coordinator, they allowed just 28 sacks — the fifth fewest in the league that year. In his lone season leading the Jets’ offensive line, he helped them cut their sack total by 10 compared to the year before he arrived.

Thirty years in the league gives you a deep résumé to pull from, but here’s the short version: Dennison has been there, done that — as a play-caller and as an offensive line coach — and his units tend to improve. For a Raiders team that desperately needs a turnaround up front, that’s a great sign.

QUICK HITTERS ON SOME OTHER COACHING ADDITIONS

RB Coach Omar Young

I think this is a sneaky good hire. Young was the running backs coach at Iowa last season, where they leaned heavily into that wide zone rushing attack — something we’ll see plenty of in Vegas. Iowa rushed for 2,300 yards as a team and averaged 4.6 yards per carry. He’ll be a strong fit to help develop Ashton Jeanty in this system and could even offer some valuable insight on a few of those mid-round Iowa offensive linemen if the Raiders look that direction in the draft.

WR Coach Zach Azzanni

Azzanni’s résumé speaks for itself. He’s worked with Emmanuel Sanders, Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Garrett Wilson, George Pickens, and DK Metcalf, just to name a few. But the part that really stands out to me? He’s coming over from Pittsburgh. Some organizations just have “it” when it comes to evaluating and developing certain positions — and for the Steelers, that’s wide receivers. Pulling a receiver coach from that pipeline is intriguing.

LB Coach Ronell Williams

Williams arrives from Philadelphia after helping Zach Baun and Nakobe Dean put together career years during the Eagles’ Super Bowl run in 2024. Baun came out of nowhere, and Dean is set to hit free agency. The Raiders need to retool their linebacker room — maybe there’s a connection there worth watching.

DB Coach Matt Robinson

This one is more of a gut-feel hire for me. Robinson initially followed John Harbaugh from Baltimore to New York before jumping to Vegas for a better opportunity — and likely a pay bump (No state income tax probably doesn’t hurt either.) He was in Baltimore during Mike Macdonald’s first season running the Ravens’ defense, meaning he saw that unit built from the ground up. Rob Leonard was there, too. Maybe that’s a subtle clue about the defensive direction Leonard wants to take in Vegas.

REQUIRED READING

In this week’s installment of “Required Reading,” we’re featuring a great piece from Bruce Feldman on Fernando Mendoza. Feldman walks through Mendoza’s rise from a two-star recruit, ranked the 140th-best quarterback in the 2022 class, to Heisman Trophy winner and projected No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Mendoza’s climb has been one of the most fascinating storylines in college football over the last few years, and this is a really strong deep dive into how he pulled it off. Definitely worth your time.

MISS ANYTHING?

Catch up on some of our recent stories:

ICYMI: A DEEP DIVE ON LEONARD’S POTENTIAL SHEME

Speaking of the coaching staff, if you missed our deep dive on Rob Leonard, the Raiders’ new defensive coordinator, make sure you check it out. In this episode with Cody Alexander of MatchQuarters.com, we go under the hood on what Leonard’s defense could actually look like in Vegas. From his time working under Patrick Graham, Brian Flores, Mike Macdonald, and Steve Spagnuolo to the type of coordinator Cody compares him to stylistically, we break down what Leonard likely learned along the way, which Raiders fit the system, and where this defense still needs help in free agency and the draft. If you’re wondering what he realistically looks like as a defensive play-caller, this one’s worth your time.

FANSHOTZ FRIDAY

“FanShotz Friday”

By now, you have seen the phenomenal photos we’ve been using in many of our newsletters. They’re some of the best shots you’ll find of your favorite team, captured through the lens of our friend Arnie Bazemore of Fanshotz.com. Every Friday, we’ll feature Arnie’s favorite Raiders shot of the week that he captures at practice or on game day.

This week, we’re featuring a shot Arnie grabbed of Raheem Mostert. And yeah — there’s a reason for that.

A lot of you keep asking who the Raiders will tab as their RB2. We know Klint Kubiak leans into a running back–by–committee approach. Ashton Jeanty is going to get the lion’s share of the carries, but that second back is still a critical piece in this offense.

So here’s my question: why not bring Raheem Mostert back? He’s got real experience in the Shanahan system from his days in San Francisco and Miami, where he played some of the best football of his career. He wouldn’t break the bank, he’s known as a strong locker room presence, and he could help Jeanty and the rest of the room transition into Kubiak’s system. Feels like a win-win — and maybe he’s got a little more left in the tank than people think. Just something to chew on.

Check out Arnie’s work at his site linked above and reach out if you’re interested in working with him. He’s a great guy and has been so supportive of me over the years when I was at NBC here in Vegas, and he’s come along for the ride with Silver & Black Sports Network, too.

WHAT’S NEXT?

We’ll see you guys Tuesday for the next episode of the Silver & Black Sports Network Podcast.

With the Combine right around the corner, we’ll also start diving into some of the prospects not named Fernando Mendoza that Raider Nation should have on its radar. The draft conversation is about to expand in a big way.

Catch ya next time,