Raiders Add Travis Smith, Rick Dennison To Coaching Staff
FEBRUARY 19: The Raiders confirmed on Thursday that Dennison’s title will be offensive line coach, to little surprise.
FEBRUARY 16: The Raiders hired Travis Smith to be their defensive line coach under new head coach Klint Kubiak, per a team announcement.
Smith is returning to Las Vegas after three years in Chicago (defensive line coach) and one in Tennessee (defensive run game coordinator). He was announced as the Titans’ senior defensive assistant/pass rush specialist on Robert Saleh‘s staff, but is instead opting to reunite with the Raiders, for whom he coached from 2012 to 2021. He served in a variety of roles on the defensive side of the ball and worked closely with Maxx Crosby at the beginning of his career.
Also joining Kubiak’s staff is Rick Dennison, per CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. Dennison, 67, has spent the last three decades coaching in the NFL, primarily working with offensive linemen with coordinator stints in Denver, Houston, and Buffalo. He and Kubiak have worked together since 2016, Dennison’s last year as the Broncos’ OC and Kubiak’s first as an offensive assistant.
The two then overlapped in Minnesota from 2019 to 2021, after which Dennison stepped away from coaching. He returned to the NFL in 2024 to join Kubiak’s offensive staff in New Orleans as a senior assistant and followed him to Seattle last year. Dennison then served as the Seahawks’ run game coordinator/senior offensive advisor in 2025 and will now join the Raiders in a yet-to-be announced role.
Kubiak is still looking to fill the quarterbacks coach position on his staff, and Vikings asst. OC/asst. QBs coach Jordan Traylor is a candidate for the job, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. He previously worked under Kubiak in New Orleans in 2024, on the same staff as Dennison and now-Raiders OC Andrew Janocko.
AFC West Notes: Broncos, Powers, Raiders, Staff, Tart, Chargers, Chiefs
As it stands, the Broncos are the rare team with five offensive linemen signed to eight-figure-per-year contracts. They ensured this status by extending center Luke Wattenberg (four years, $48MM) during their November bye week. Three-year left guard starter Ben Powers was injured when that deal went down, and PFR’s Broncos Offseason Outlook mentioned the veteran as a cut candidate following Wattenberg’s payday. We may be moving closer to that reality.
In predicting how the Broncos will proceed with Powers, the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel pegs a release as the most likely outcome. Denver would save $8.4MM by releasing Powers, who signed a four-year deal worth $52MM in 2023. The Broncos signed Powers and right tackle Mike McGlinchey on Day 1 of the ’23 legal tampering period, and both have helped the team’s O-line complete a turnaround. But the Broncos have since paid Wattenberg and All-Pros Garett Bolles and Quinn Meinerz. With former UDFA Alex Palczewski replacing Powers for 10 starts last season, he is a candidate to take over at LG.
The Broncos will only make this Powers move if they view Palczewski — a 2023 UDFA who can be kept for one more season via RFA tender — ready to move into the lineup, The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider adds. Powers, 29, has played well when healthy. Run block win rate tabbed him first among all interior O-linemen in 2024, while Pro Football Focus ranked Powers 35th among guards (with Palczewski 62nd) last season. Here is the latest from the AFC West:
- Klint Kubiak is still assembling his Raiders staff, and another familiar name is on his radar. The Raiders requested permission to interview Vikings assistant Jordan Traylor for their quarterbacks coach position, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. Traylor worked with Kubiak with the 2024 Saints, spending six seasons in New Orleans. He served as Vikings assistant QBs coach in 2025. Minnesota has already lost tight ends coach Brian Angelichio to an OC post (with the Steelers) and wide receivers coach Tony Sorrentino to the Cardinals. Traylor would represent another defection from Kevin O’Connell‘s offensive staff.
- The Raiders are also expected to hire Zach Azzani as their wide receivers coach, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. Azzani, 49, previously worked with Kubiak on the 2022 Broncos’ staff. Denver’s five-year WRs coach (2018-22), Azzani coached the Jets’ receivers in 2023 and spent the past two years in that role with the Steelers. Las Vegas would be Azzani’s fifth NFL stop as a receivers coach.
- Dismissed by the Cowboys as they changed defensive staffs last month, Andre Curtis has found a new home. The Chiefs announced his hire as safeties coach. Curtis, 49, has been an NFL staffer since 2006. He spent seven seasons on Pete Carroll‘s Seattle staffs (2015-21), finishing that tenure with four seasons as the Seahawks’ pass-game coordinator on defense. After three seasons coaching Bears safeties, Curtis worked as the Cowboys’ defensive pass-game coordinator last season. Steve Spagnuolo had Curtis on all three of Rams staffs when the former was St. Louis’ HC from 2009-11.
- After dodging an ACL tear near the end of the Chiefs’ season, Gardner Minshew has returned to full strength, per Schefter. Minshew, who started in Week 16 but missed Kansas City’s final two games, will be healthy as teams evaluate him as a potential backup or bridge option in free agency.
- Broncos DB/special-teamer JL Skinner revealed he played the 2025 season with a labrum tear, confirming (via Mile High Sports’ Cody Roark) he underwent surgery recently. One season remains on Skinner’s rookie contract; he saw action on 68% of the Broncos’ special teams plays last season.
- The Chargers started a bit early in free agency by re-signing Teair Tart. The veteran defensive tackle has done well on his third Bolts deal. Tart re-signed on a three-year, $30MM contract that includes $15MM guaranteed at signing, per OverTheCap. This guarantee includes $4.98MM of his 2027 salary. Tart, 29 later this month, played on a one-year, $4.5MM deal in 2025. Both the Titans and Dolphins cut him earlier this decade.
Vikings To Hire Jordan Traylor As Offensive Assistant
The Vikings are hiring Jordan Traylor as assistant offensive coordinator and assistant quarterbacks coach, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Traylor spent the last six seasons with the Saints. He started as a scouting assistant before moving into coaching as a defensive assistant in 2021. He switched to the offensive side of the ball in 2023 and has focused on tight ends over the last two years. Juwan Johnson and Foster Moreau made noticeable improvements during his tenure and finished 2024 as the team’s first- and third-leading receivers, respectively.
The Saints wanted to retain Traylor, according to Mike Triplett of New Orleans.Football, but he decided to take a promotion on Kevin O’Connell‘s staff. He will replace Grant Udinski, who left the Vikings last month to take the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator job.
Traylor played quarterback at Texas A&M before starting his coaching career with Texas (2016-2017) and Arkansas (2018). In Minnesota, he will be tasked with developing 2024 first-rounder J.J. McCarthy, a job that could be even more important if Sam Darnold isn’t retained.
In that case, the Vikings may look to re-sign Daniel Jones, who ended last season in Minnesota. Traylor would then have to continue Jones’ integration into the offense as a potential starter if McCarthy faces any setbacks in his recovery from last year’s knee injury.