Head coach Dennis Allen has been fired by the 0-4 Oakland Raiders, according to multiple media outlets.
A rumor circulated Sunday night that Allen, 42, had been let go as the team flew home from London, but a tweet to that effect was then deleted by an AP reporter because the Allen firing was confirmed.
Evidently Allen, the former Denver Broncos defensive coordinator, is officially out of a job now if these news reports are accurate.
Mark Davis, the son of NFL icon Al Davis who became boss of the franchise after his dad passed away, is on record saying that he has become tired of the team’s lopsided losses.
According to ESPN , one of the outlets reporting on the Dennis Allen firing , “Oakland has lost an NFL-high 10 straight games dating back to last November and is 0-4 for the first time since 2006 when it finished with the worst record in the NFL. The final straw for Allen was an embarrassing 38-14 loss to Miami on Sunday in London. The Raiders are on their bye week… Allen was the Raiders’ seventh coach since they traded Jon Gruden to Tampa Bay after the 2001 season. It’s the most in the NFL in that span.”
Allen, whose record with the Raiders is 8-28, was under contract through next season.
The Raiders have endured 11 consecutive losing seasons.
Candidates to take over for Dennis Allen on an interim basis for the balance of the season include assistant head coach/offensive line coach Tony Sparano or offensive coordinator Greg Olson. The team will make an official announcement later on Tuesday as to who will run the team as interim head coach.
CBS Sports suggests that the Raiders general manager who hired Dennis Allen could also be on the hot seat: “The question now is whether GM Reggie McKenzie can survive through the year. Allen’s a handy scapegoat for right now, but this roster is fairly devoid of talent. Derek Carr’s flashed at times as a future franchise quarterback, but this is the same front office who signed Matt Schaub this offseason.”
Breaking: Raiders have just informed Dennis Allen he is fired.
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) September 30, 2014
A potential new football stadium also apparently figured in the Dennis Allen ouster. “The pressure on Allen to succeed this season was amplified by the fact that Davis is trying to secure a stadium for next season, and an 0-4 start isn’t the type of buzz the franchise needs,” SB Nation reported.
Do you think Raider Nation will be pleased or displeased with the firing of Dennis Allen?
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