Inside The Huskies

Ex-Husky Cort Dennison Reportedly Joins Idaho Coaching Staff

The one-time standout UW linebacker twice coached for Louisville.

Dan Raley

WSU running back Rickey Galvin gets tackled by Huskies linebacker Cort Dennison in 2011 at Century Link Field.
WSU running back Rickey Galvin gets tackled by Huskies linebacker Cort Dennison in 2011 at Century Link Field. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Cort Dennison, one of the University of Washington's more decorated linebackers over the past decade and a half, has joined Thomas Ford's new Idaho coaching staff as its defensive coordinator, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Dennison, 35, comes to the Vandals from Missouri State, where he was the defensive coordinator for one seasons for the FCS soon to be FBS program.

Considered one of college football's rising assistant coaches and a proven recruiter, Dennison has been trying to rebuild his career since getting fired at Louisville in 2021 while serving the second of two stints with the Cardinals.

According to reports, he was involved in a domestic dispute with another Louisville athletic department employee in which all allegations against him later were withdrawn.

A Salt Lake City native, Dennison went home and worked at Utah in 2023 as a defensive quality control coach for Kyle Whittingham.

For Louisville, he joined an ACC team headed up by coach Bobby Petrino in 2014-17 and again in 2019-21 for coach Scott Satterfield, holding a variety of assignments that included co-defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach.

Peter Sirmon, former UW linebackers coach in 2012-13 and now the California defensive coordinator, worked with Dennison as the Louisville DC in 2017.

Dennison spent the 2018 season with Oregon as its linebackers coach.

Cort Dennison douses UW coach Steve Sarkisian with Gatorade after a 19-7 victory over Nebraska in the 2010 Holiday Bowl.
Cort Dennison douses UW coach Steve Sarkisian with Gatorade after a 19-7 victory over Nebraska in the 2010 Holiday Bowl. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

As a player, Dennison was recruited to the UW in 2007 by Tyrone Willingham's staff. By 2011, the 6-foot-1, 234-pound linebacker was a team captain for Steve Sarkisian, a 30-game starter and a second-team All-Pac-12 selection who topped the conference in tackles with 128.

Dennison finished with 15 tackles in his final Husky outing, a 67-56 loss in the Alamo Bowl to Baylor and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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