Rick Dennison is in his third season as the Texans’ offensive coordinator. Dennison is entering his 18th season in the NFL as a coach and his 27th year in the League overall. Prior to joining head coach Gary Kubiak’s staff in 2010, Dennison had spent his entire NFL tenure with the Denver Broncos, first as a player from 1982-90 and then as a coach from 1995-2009.
Houston’s offense has become synonymous with success in the run game since Dennison joined the staff in January 2010. Houston ranks fourth in the NFL with 140.3 rushing yards per game, is tied for the NFL lead with 38 combined rushing touchdowns and has set franchise rushing records in consecutive years in Dennison’s first two seasons running the offense.
Rick Dennison is in his third season as the Texans’ offensive coordinator. Dennison is entering his 18th season in the NFL as a coach and his 27th year in the League overall. Prior to joining head coach Gary Kubiak’s staff in 2010, Dennison had spent his entire NFL tenure with the Denver Broncos, first as a player from 1982-90 and then as a coach from 1995-2009.
Houston’s offense has become synonymous with success in the run game since Dennison joined the staff in January 2010. Houston ranks fourth in the NFL with 140.3 rushing yards per game, is tied for the NFL lead with 38 combined rushing touchdowns and has set franchise rushing records in consecutive years in Dennison’s first two seasons running the offense.
Dennison’s offense persevered through several injuries to key players for another successful offensive campaign in 2011. Houston set franchise records with 2,448 rushing yards (153.0 per game) and 546 rushing attempts to rank second in the NFL, and excelled in the postseason, averaging 159.5 rushing yards per game in helping the Texans reach the Divisional round of the playoffs. Houston led the NFL in time of possession (32:41) and set a franchise record for fewest interceptions thrown with nine, despite having three different starting quarterbacks. Starting quarterback Matt Schaub and backup Matt Leinart went down with season-ending injuries in Weeks 10 and 12 of the regular season, leaving rookie fifth-round draft pick T.J. Yates to lead the offense throughout the remainder of the regular season and postseason.
The 2011 Texans had two running backs rush for more than 900 yards in a season for the first time in franchise history, with Arian Foster finishing fifth in the NFL with 1,224 yards and Ben Tate rushing for 942 yards. Foster and Tate both rushed for more than 100 yards in the same game twice during the season, making Houston just the sixth team since 1985 to accomplish the feat. Center Chris Myers was selected to the Pro Bowl, a first for a Texans lineman, and left tackle Duane Brown earned second team AP All-Pro and PFW/PFWA All-AFC honors.
Houston’s offense experienced record-setting success with a renewed emphasis on the running game under Dennison’s direction in 2010. The Texans offense ranked third overall in the NFL with the league’s seventh-ranked rushing offense and fourth-ranked passing attack. Houston set franchise records with 390 points scored, 6,186 total yards of offense (386.6 per game) and 2,042 yards rushing (127.6 yards per game). Dennison’s offense helped Foster become the franchise’s first NFL rushing and scoring leader with a franchise-record 1,616 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns.
Dennison’s first stint as an offensive coordinator in the NFL came in Denver from 2006-08 after his predecessor, Kubiak, left the Broncos to become the head coach of the Houston Texans. Dennison coached the Broncos offensive line from 2001-05 and again in 2009. He also coached Denver’s special teams from 1997-00 and was an offensive assistant from 1995-96.
With Dennison at the helm, Denver’s offense averaged 350.5 yards per game from 2006-08 and rushed for 124.4 yards per game, averaging 4.6 yards per carry. Despite starting a rookie at left tackle and a second-year player at right tackle in 2008, the Broncos offense gained 6,333 yards to rank second in the NFL and the offensive line allowed a franchise-record-low 12 sacks on the season.
In 2007, Denver was fourth in the NFL in yards per play (5.7) and fifth in yards per rush (4.6). In 2006, Dennison’s first season at the helm of the offense, Denver ranked fifth in the NFL with an average of 360.4 yards per game.
With Dennison in charge of either the offensive line or the entire offense from 2001-09, the Broncos ranked second in the NFL with a nine-year average of 135.1 rushing yards per game, and Denver’s 4.5-yard rushing average in that time period was the third-highest in the League. The Broncos line also excelled in pass blocking, surrendering just 226 sacks in nine years, which was the fourth-fewest in the League in that time.
Dennison coached Denver’s special teams from 1997-00 and helped the Broncos win back-to-back World Championships in 1997 and 1998. Under his tutelage, punt returner Darrien Gordon and kicker Jason Elam both earned trips to the Pro Bowl and punter Tom Rouen was one of the most consistent punters in the League. Dennison began his coaching career as an offensive assistant in Denver from 1995-96 after coaching for three years at the high school level for Suffield Academy in Suffield, Conn.
Dennison played linebacker for the Broncos from 1982-90, appearing in 128 games with 52 starts and three Super Bowls (XXI in 1986, XXII in ‘87 and XXIV in ‘89). In 1989, he received the Ed Block Memorial Courage Award. Dennison ranked second on the Broncos in tackles with 133 during the 1988 campaign while posting a team-high three fumble recoveries.
Dennison joined the Broncos as a college free agent in 1982 after a fine collegiate career at Colorado State, where he was a second-team Academic All-American as a senior and earned three varsity letters. In 1979, Dennison earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from CSU followed by a master’s degree in the same field from CSU in 1982.
Born in Kalispell, Mont., Dennison attended Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, Colo., where he lettered in football, basketball and baseball. His father, George, was president of the University of Montana before retiring in July 2010. Rick and his wife, Shannon, have five children, sons Joseph, Steven and Trey, and twin daughters, Abrynn and Allie.
Joseph graduated from Yale, where he played football and now works in Seattle. He was married to his wife, Hayley, in February 2011. Steven, a left-handed pitcher, was drafted in the 34th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft by the Florida Marlins out of Wheaton (Ill.) College and signed a free agent contract with the Houston Astros in June 2011.
DENNISON’S COACHING LEDGER
2010-12: Offensive coordinator, Houston Texans
2006-08: Offensive coordinator, Denver Broncos
2001-05, ‘09: Offensive line, Denver Broncos
1997-2000: Special teams, Denver Broncos
1995-96: Offensive assistant, Denver Broncos
1992-94: Assistant, Suffield (Conn.) Academy
