The Minnesota Vikings and assistant coach Rick Dennison have parted ways after the coach refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine, according to ESPN. He is believed to be the first position coach to move on from his team because of the vaccine.
The move comes a day after an NFL memo revealed that teams will be forced to forfeit if there is a COVID-19 outbreak resulting from unvaccinated players. The rule was set to encourage players and coaches to receive the vaccine.
Any staff member that is labeled as a “Tier 1” member is required to receive the vaccine. The league has also said that any unvaccinated Tier 1 member has to provide a religious or medical reason to not receive it. If they don’t, they would be stripped of their top-tier status and would face extreme protocols throughout the season. Only Tier 1 members can be on the field and meeting room with their players.
Dennison was the Vikings’ offensive line coach/run game coordinator the past two seasons. He has coached in the league for 27 years and has had stints with the Denver Broncos (1995-2009, 2015-16), Houston Texans (2010-13), and Baltimore Ravens (2014). He was also the Jets offensive line coach and run game coordinator in 2018 under Todd Bowles.
In a corresponding move, Phil Rauscher has been promoted from assistant offensive line coach. Rauscher has coached in the NFL for seven seasons. Before joining the Vikings, he was the offensive line coach in Washington. They have also hired Ben Steele to replace Rauscher as the assistant offensive line coach.