Veteran NFL assistant coach Rick Dennison has left his job with the Minnesota Vikings after refusing to be vaccinated for COVID-19, ESPN reported Friday.
Dennison, 63, had been offensive line coach/run game coordinator for two seasons. He is believed to be the first position coach to leave a team over vaccine regulation.
The NFL is requiring that all Tier 1 staff, which includes coaches, scouts, equipment managers and team executives, be fully vaccinated. Players do not have the same rule, but will be under restrictive COVID-19 protocols if they are unvaccinated.
ESPN said the Vikings promoted Dennison’s assistant, Phil Rauscher, to fill the vacated position and added Auburn special-teams analyst Ben Steele to the staff.
Dennison played nine seasons as a linebacker for the Denver Broncos before beginning his coaching career in 1995 as a Broncos offensive analyst. He served as offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans, Buffalo Bills and Broncos, and designed the offense that Peyton Manning led to a victory in Super Bowl 50.
The Vikings report to training camp on Tuesday.
Cornerback Antonio Hamilton, who is attempting to make the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ roster, expressed an anti-vaccination sentiment via Twitter on Friday.
“It would be a lot easier to trust the science if only it made sense and they stood behind it and took responsibility for them … ” Hamilton said, in part, in his disjointed rant on social media.
The 28-year-old, who was undrafted out of South Carolina State, has appeared in 57 games (two starts) in five seasons with three different teams.