HENDERSON (FOX5) — Coming off a three-win season, the Las Vegas Raiders are looking to the offensive line as the foundation for improvement in 2026, with new personnel and a new coach drawing attention at training camp.
Left tackle Kolton Miller entered camp healthy, and the free agent addition of center Tyler Linderbaum has raised expectations for the unit.
The arrival of offensive line coach Rick Dennison — a four-time Super Bowl champion — has been a focal point of the early camp optimism.
‘Rico’ sets the tone
Dennison, known around the facility as “Rico,” has drawn praise from players for his hands-on approach with veterans and rookies alike.
“Yeah, Rico — him, Big Ben, Pete, Mario — we have a great coaching staff and want to get the best out of us,” Miller said. “Even with the bigger group we get a lot of good work in and Rico is on top of that for sure.”
Dennison said his coaching style is rooted in direct communication and experience on both sides of the ball.
“I don’t know how to do it any differently — if you don’t put your hands on them,” Dennison said. “I learned from Alex [Gibbs], but I also look at the perspective that I played defense, what did I see from the other side, and I know what my vision was and the gaps. As a lineman, there is not much they see past a 300-pounder. You got to get in it and you have to understand what they’re looking at, talk to them. Tyler, Kolton have experience — if I like something I’ll listen to, if not I have some scars — as long as we’re all trying to progress.”
MORE ON FOX5: Pac-12, Mountain West finalize settlement to end realignment lawsuits
Linderbaum said Dennison’s experience and teaching style have stood out early in camp.
“I’ve been fortunate to be around a lot of great o-line coaches, and I think Coach Rico is another great one,” Linderbaum said. “Just the way he carries himself and teaches. Big teacher for the game, and he’s been around the game for a long time. So, anything that you take from him is valuable. At the end of the day, he lets us go out there and play our style of football, which I appreciate.”
Starting lineup still unsettled
Since camp opened, the starting five has remained the same, with Spencer Burford and Jackson Powers Johnson occupying the guard spots. Dennison said it is too early to finalize the lineup.
“We’re not even through our install yet — we have a couple more days of putting our base stuff in, and we’ll pull and keep moving guys around,” Dennison said.
He added that competition for spots will continue into the preseason.
“We’re trying to find the best five — I don’t know what those are going to be right now, it’s way too early to figure that one out,” Dennison said. “We got to play a couple games.”
The Raiders have a day off Wednesday before returning to the field Thursday.
Their first preseason game is Aug. 13 against the Arizona Cardinals.
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
