General manager Reggie McKenzie hired Dennis Allen to be the first head coach of the Oakland Raiders in the post-Al Davis era.McKenzie made it clear during Allen's introductory press conference that the Raiders organization is not just a team, but will function like a team. The coaches and front office will share ideas and information and provide input as appropriate. McKenzie's primary responsibility will be shaping the roster with input provided by Allen. Allen's responsibility will be taking what McKenzie gives him and winning football games. If the Raiders are to win a Super Bowl under the leadership of these two men, they ...
The Oakland Raiders' 18th head coach in franchise history has wasted little time in filling out, or at least seeking members for, his staff. Dennis Allen was rejected by former boss John Fox to interview Denver linebackers coach Richard Smith for the Raiders' vacant defensive coordinator job. Fox Sports is reporting that Kelly Skipper will be brought back in the same position he has held the last five years in Oakland—running backs coach. Skipper has been through several coaches in those five years, and he has been re-united with a former co-worker.It has been confirmed that Greg Knapp will return ...
Another NFL regular season is in the books and for the 10th straight year, the Oakland Raiders failed to make a postseason appearance. Oakland was in a win-or-go-home scenario in Week 17 against the rival San Diego Chargers where a win would have sent the Silver and Black to the playoffs.The Raiders fell short, and that meant it was back to the drawing board. The front office acted quickly, dismissing Hue Jackson as head coach and hiring Packers executive Reggie McKenzie as general manager.The Raiders looked the part of a playoff team for much of the year, but injuries to ...
Well, so much for continuity...It was reported late last night that the Oakland Raiders had reached out and offered current Houston Texans' quarterbacks coach Greg Knapp their offensive coordinator position. It was reported earlier today by NFL Network's Jason La Canfora that Knapp accepted the job offer.The move makes sense as Knapp and head coach Dennis Allen worked together for two years with the Atlanta Falcons in the mid 2000s. The trend of Reggie McKenzie and Dennis Allen finding "their guys", rather than inheriting someone else's, continues. What has many members of Raider Nation scratching their heads is why the incumbent ...
At this point, Oakland may as well change their name from the Athletics to Team Craigslist.Weeks after trading a substantial portion of their starting rotation and bullpen, the A's are on the prowl for a veteran hitter at a bargain price; this year's Hideki Matsui.And they're searching every possible location: free agency, the classifieds, outlet stores, eHarmony and other online sites. They're even scraping the bottom of the used golf balls barrel at the local Play it Again Sports. Praying for a Titleist but mostly grabbing Top-Flites. While browsing Craigslist, the front office stumbled upon this post in the Personals ...
With Dennis Allen getting comfortable in his new head coach position, the Oakland Raiders are just a couple chosen-coaches away from starting work towards a fierce 2012 season.Between Allen’s vision of “a new day” and GM Reggie McKenzie’s want for an “era of change,” the push has started for a revamped Oakland Raiders team. But Allen’s commitment to “intensity” isn’t going to magically morph the Silver and Black on its own. In fact, there are a couple areas that will need a little tweaking for Oakland to display that “play-off level” potential that Allen seeks to bring out of this ...
It's been a while, Raider Nation. After spending the first month of this past regular season sharing my thoughts with all of you, I took a bit of a hiatus. I have changed residences twice, took the GRE, spent a few months applying to graduate school, traveled to the Bay Area to catch my first game at the Coliseum, and have been at my brother's side during his stint at the hospital. Now? That is all over and done with and I look forward to guiding you through the 2012 offseason. So what did I miss?Since the last time I wrote an article, ...
After many years of only seeing Al Davis on TV once a year, if that, to address the state of the Oakland Raiders, it has felt abnormal to see a Raiders press conference twice over the past three weeks with those conferences to introduce a new general manager in Reggie McKenzie and a new head coach in Dennis Allen.Normally when a team is undergoing as much change in the offseason as the Raiders are this year, it is to follow up a bad season with a house-cleaning that sees most of the previous coaches and front office members fired.Just like the entrance ...
After a 25-20 victory over the Chicago Bears in late November last year, it was unlikely the Oakland Raiders were thinking about their needs in the 2012 NFL draft. The win put them at 7-4 on the season and if they simply played around .500 the rest of the way, they would make the playoffs. Unfortunately they lost four of five down the stretch, watching Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos take the AFC West divisional crown.In the weeks following the collapse, the Raiders have begun a new era. They fired Hue Jackson after just one year and for the ...
As with any fanbase, the Raider Nation is not immune to overrating players. Every offseason coaches and front office personnel across the league lock themselves in the film room to study their own roster. It's not uncommon for a player to lose snaps the following season after the team had time to evaluate his play relative to other players in the league.There are a few players on the roster vulnerable to a loss of snaps or even a loss of a job after the Raiders' new general manager, Reggie McKenzie, and new head coach, Dennis Allen, have time to evaluate them.Who? Matt ...