Dennison was most recently the defensive coordinator at Idaho, and had a stop with the Oregon Ducks.
Oregon State football is set to hire a one-time star linebacker at Washington as its co-defensive coordinator.
Cort Dennison — most recently the defensive coordinator at Idaho — will join JaMarcus Shephard’s staff as co-DC and linebackers coach, a source with knowledge of the forthcoming hire told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Thursday.
The Beavers are targeting former Miami assistant Lance Guidry for the primary DC position, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Wednesday. And OSU named Mitch Dahlen as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on Thursday.
Other expected hires for OSU include Eron Hodges in a football general manager-type role, Torrey Gill as wide receivers coach, and Inoke Breckterfield as defensive line coach.
Dennison — originally from Salt Lake City, Utah — was the outside linebackers coach for Oregon in 2018. He was also the defensive coordinator at Louisville in 2019 and 2021, and worked for both Utah and Missouri State in assistant roles before ending up at Idaho.
The Vandals held Washington State to just 13 points in the opener this season, but the rest of 2025 was a mixed bag with some low moments for Dennison’s defense.
Idaho did finish third in the Big Sky in total defense, however, and held the Cougars to just three rushing yards in that game.
