It has been reported that the Raiders have come to an agreement with Dennis Allen, former Defensive Coordinator of the Denver Broncos.
While with the Broncos, Allen improved their defense from dead last to 20th overall. Of course he had a healthy Dumervil and outstanding rookie Miller to help his cause, but it is still quite an accomplishment. They also nearly doubled their sacks from the previous year.
Prior to the Broncos, he was the Saint's d-line coach and started his NFL career with the Falcons in 2002 as their defensive backfield assistant coach. I like that he has worked with both the line and secondary prior to becoming a coordinator. Seems he should know the inner workings of both units and his impact is justified with each teams improvement.
While I'm sure they will hire a separate DC, his influence will be interesting. I've read that he has a 'bend but don't break' philosophy - which is great because the Raiders had issues giving up the big plays all year long. He's also been described as somewhat militant - which is okay too since discipline is something desparately needed.
This quote from when he was hired by the Broncos is pretty intriguing:
"We're going to be built off of speed and athleticism. We want to be a very fast, violent, aggressive type of defense. I firmly believe that defensive football is not nearly as much about X's and O's as it is about the way you play the game, the culture of your defense. I think if you look at where I've been in the past, speed and athleticism and aggressive football players is the type of thing we're looking for."
As is this quote from the Denver Post following his being hired:
"Listen, I don't believe in berating guys. Don't believe in talking down to them. We work together. They don't work for me or us as coaches. But at the end of the day, we're going to point out problems and we're going to get them corrected, because if you don't get them corrected, they're going to fester, and eventually they're going to get you beat," Allen said. "We point out of there is an issue with effort. If there is an issue with an assignment, we make sure we bring it to their attention, and make sure we get it corrected"
This is the first defensive minded coach since John Madden. I like the correlation and I believe it's coming at the right time. And while there will of course be the naysayers about his being relatively unknown - who cares? Why hire a retread with an overall losing record as a coach (Mornhinweg, Tice or Capers)? The Raiders gave Madden a shot which was laughable for most until he just won, baby...
Time will tell. And until then, I'm excited for the future of our team.
Go Raiders!
Jessica Perez
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Comments (19) Add A Comment
It wouldn't let me link the articles I took the quotes from. They are here:
Denver Post: http://www.denverpost.com/recommended/ci_18875430
Inside the Raiders: http://www.ibabuzz.com/oaklandraiders/2012/01/23/the-dennis-allen-file/
LoveItHateIt
Portland, OR
Total Comments (11795)
Thanks Marlins! I'm pretty damned excited that things will finally start moving forward.
LoveItHateIt
Portland, OR
Total Comments (11795)
Any Raider that doesn't get onboard with the new program is going to get put into one of Dennis Allen's "patented" master-locks.
YODA
Edmonton, AB
Total Comments (7173)
LIHI -- well done. To echo Marlin Fan's comments, very well written and I like the way you were able to pull some insight that has not been seen in the major publications. I like the hire and hope he can bring some discipline to their defense next year...along with some skilled DB's which may be though given their lack of draft picks.
Too bad more people have not seen the blog
drysdale
Total Comments (2091)
I was thinking more along the lines of fines, but that would work too I'm sure!
LoveItHateIt
Portland, OR
Total Comments (11795)
It fits. I like the hire a lot. And while there will be many that talk about how the Denver D wasn't especially spectacular vs the Pats and other high scoring teams, you still have to credit Allen for what he was able to do with no offseason and in only a years time.
LoveItHateIt
Portland, OR
Total Comments (11795)
Appreciated. I really, really loved those quotes. There are more from Dumervil, Miller and Champ Bailey along the same lines - the guy is supposedly really intense and when I think of the games where our D had no fire... perfect fit, IMO.
The other thing that really makes me excited is when you go to Bronco fan sites, they aren't happy about losing him. So it's kind of like a win win situation :-)
LoveItHateIt
Portland, OR
Total Comments (11795)
Excellent blog, LIHI. Very nice work.
ElevenRingsSTL
Total Comments (3007)
Talk about a hire coming out of no where. I guess until you actually get to know someone, never assume that Winston Moss (or someone else from GB) is coming to town. I respect the move from GM Mac - instead of going the retread hire which I am sooooo against. Who knows, Allen may be the next Spags or the next Schwartz. I am hoping for the latter and looking forward to a more disciplined hard hitting team. Lord knows we have the guys that fit the bill to knock in some teeth.
crazyalzado
Total Comments (5104)
Blog very well written.
Pleasure to read an intelligent blog.
Mongo Mean Mad
Hb, CA
Total Comments (54)
Jim - I was happy to do the research for you because at first I was kinda freaking out not knowing who this guy was!
ElevenRings - thanks for reading. And I know your team won another, but you'll always be TenRings in my mind :-)
Mongo - I appreciate the compliment! But honestly, when 99% of the blogs are ***WATCH*** TEAM ABC LIVE STREAMING, any blog with legitimate content looks pretty damn good.
LoveItHateIt
Portland, OR
Total Comments (11795)
What I like about McKenzie's choice is that he did his due diligence and went with who he felt was the best man for the job. After his presser, everyone (including myself) thought he had 'his guy'. Obviously he didn't have someone in mind specifically, but he would know when he found him. I hope he did.
I am really looking forward to a full offseason under the new regime and agree we have many good players. Imagine what the defense would be like if everyone was accountable and had the proper coaching to go out there and do their jobs. McClain and DVD come to mind here because I think both could be great if they remain focused.
LoveItHateIt
Portland, OR
Total Comments (11795)
I fall into this situation in my own hiring needs - have my mind set on someone and it takes the right candidate to alter that direction. In Mac's case - what I took out of it was that he came off as open minded and deliberate. Two traits as a Raider nut I am not altogether familiar with......
crazyalzado
Total Comments (5104)
I agree. It's definitely a new feeling for sure!
LoveItHateIt
Portland, OR
Total Comments (11795)
WOOF!
iB4e is gonna miss…
Austin, TX
Total Comments (85)
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