Oakland Raiders: Dennis Allen Claiming He Had A Hand In Team’s Rise

The Oakland Raiders are in the Big Easy to face the New Orleans Saints – and their former head coach Dennis Allen who believes he had a hand in the team’s rise.

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When Dennis Allen inherited the Oakland Raiders in 2012, the team was a laughingstock. When Dennis Allen was fired early in the 2014 season, the team was arguably, an even bigger laughingstock. To say that the organization didn’t progress – at all – during his tenure would be an enormous understatement. If anything, by the time Allen was given his walking papers, the team had actually regressed.

But you have to give Allen credit – he knows how to politic. In the run-up to the season opening game with the Raiders, Allen has been given several chances to blast his former employers. And he’s declined to take the bait every single time. He’s come across as smooth, professional, and even sincere in thanking the organization for the opportunity to be a head coach.

In an interview with ESPN earlier this week, Allen said:

"“Hey, I’m appreciative of the fact that I got to be a head coach in the National Football League. Not everybody gets a chance to do that. And I learned a lot. I learned about things to do and things not to do. And I think I’m a better football coach because of it.”"

Kudos to Allen for taking the high road. Of course, that could also be from a position of self-preservation since going Chernobyl on a former employer might damage future job prospects. Some organizations get rather touchy when former employers blast them publicly.

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And given that the NFL is such a small, tight knit, old boy’s club, if Allen had opted to go nuclear – well – that might not have been a good look in the eyes of potential future employers.

Of course, Allen taking the high road – in retrospect – though professional, is somewhat laughable. He was given two and a half years to produce for this organization. And in two and a half years, he produced records of 4-12, 4-12, and 0-4 – he was fired after his fourth consecutive loss to start the 2014 season.

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If you’re keeping score at home, Allen was allowed to run up a record of 8-32 before he was given the axe. In an immediate gratification and results driven industry like the NFL, Allen lasted a lot longer than he probably should have. And certainly, a lot longer than some other coaches have.

Yes, you can say that Allen was a bit hamstrung by the team’s financial situation as well as a dearth of talent. And that wouldn’t be totally off the mark or unfair. However, some of Allen’s teams weren’t nearly as talent-bare as some of the squads over the past decade.

The problem was, Allen did nothing with the talent he did have.

And yet, despite being tabbed a tough, defensive-minded coach, and then hiring Jason Tarver, who was supposedly some sort of defensive savant, the Raiders were one of the absolute worst defensive teams in the league on his watch. To say they were a joke on the defensive side of the ball would be putting it mildly.

And of course, things on the offensive side of the ball weren’t much better. They didn’t hit the endzone very often at all, and were outscored by their opponents at a staggering rate. To give it some perspective, when defensive savants Allen and Tarver were on the Raiders sidelines, the team was outscored 663-999.

No matter which way you slice it, under Allen, the Raiders were a bad, bad team who gave up a ton of points – and didn’t put up many of their own.

But hey, the past is the past. Allen has moved on and the Raiders have moved on and upgraded in their coaching department considerably. It’s great that Allen has found a spot in New Orleans to call his own. Kudos to him.

However, one of the most laughable things he’s said in recent interviews is the implication that the rise of this current Raiders team has – well – anything to do with him. To hear him tell it, he’s the coach who laid the foundation for the team that’s currently wearing the Silver and Black and that any success they enjoy is – at least, in part – thanks to him.

Said Allen:

"“And I root for a lot of those guys because I think that’s part of the foundation that was set within that program. I think they’re beginning to see some of the success of that.”"

It’s almost comical, in a sad sort of way, that Allen is trying to claim any shred of credit for the resurgence of this Raiders team. They actually had to overcome the deficit he helped put them in. It’s hard to fathom what sort of foundation he thinks he helped set within the organization. Equally as unfathomable is the idea in his head that the foundation he set is the springboard to their current successes.

Perhaps if he’d helped the team improve and move forward, you could make the case that Allen may have had some hand in Oakland’s rejuvenation. But certainly, neither Derek Carr nor Khalil Mack – both of whom he had on the roster – were the budding superstars they are today under Allen. It took Del Rio and his staff of experienced and talented assistant coaches to help coax the greatness we’re seeing out of them.

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Is it a coincidence that Carr and Mack blew up under the leadership of a different – and experienced – coaching regime? Survey says – not bloody likely. Had Allen remained in place, Carr, Mack, and the Raiders would likely still be treading water. Instead, they’re on the rise and are a team many believe is poised for a spot in the postseason once again.

And Dennis Allen has absolutely nothing to do with any of that. Still, it’s great that he’s taking the high road and not (publicly) holding a grudge against the team that not only gave him too long to turn things around, but ultimately handed him his pink slip. Kudos to him for that too.