FORT BENNING, Ga., (Oct. 1, 2014) -- OAKLAND RAIDERS COACH FIRED
The Oakland Raiders have fired coach Dennis Allen Sept. 29 after compiling an 8-28 record over his first 36 games.
Assistant head coach, offensive line coach and former Miami Dolphins head coach, Tony Sparano, has been named the team's interim coach.
"Oakland has lost an NFL-high 10 straight games dating back to November 2013 and is 0-4 for the first time since 2006, when it finished with the worst record in the NFL at 2-14," Williamson said. "The final straw for Allen was an embarrassing 38-14 loss to Miami (Sept. 28) in London. The Raiders now are on their bye week."
It's obvious that Allen is not cutthroat enough and that is what ended his career with the Raiders.
Williamson said team owner Mark Davis went "on the record saying he was tired of the team losing in lopsided fashion."
"The Raiders lost by 20 or more points in nine of Allen's 36 games as coach, including two in 2014," Williamson said.
David Ausberry, a Raiders tight end, gave insight to ESPN's Josina Anderson about Allen's situation.
"It's a tough deal, especially for him," he said. "As we all know, this is the NFL and it keeps growing. So we just all go to as a team pull together and keep going forward. That's all we really can do."
It seems that the last part of this comment is true from the Raiders record. The team can go nowhere but forward because they are already behind.
"The Raiders were 8-8 in the two seasons before Allen became coach," Williamson said. "Firing Allen is a major pockmark for Oakland general manager Reggie McKenzie, as Allen was his first hire after being picked to succeed Al Davis (deceased father of Mark Davis) as the football decision maker in Oakland in January 2012."
Williamson said a source leaked to ESPN that Allen knew he was going to be fired after a phone call from McKenzie.
"Allen was Denver's defensive coordinator before being hired in Oakland and was the Raiders' seventh coach since they traded Jon Gruden to Tampa Bay after the 2001 season," he said. "It's the most in the NFL in that span."
It looks as if the team has dropped dead weight. I guess we'll see if that's true with future games in the season.
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