When Dennis Allen is introduced as the next
Raiders coach, he’ll make his entrance to the hushed tones of
skepticism. Unlike the signing of Jim Harbaugh last year by the
49ers, which was widely considered a “touchdown” hire, this move
falls into the third-and-long category. The rookie coach either
finds a way to convert under pressure, or rookie general manager
Reggie McKenzie will be forced to punt.
When Dennis Allen is introduced as the next
Raiders coach, he’ll make his entrance to the hushed tones of
skepticism.
Unlike the signing of Jim Harbaugh last year by
the 49ers, which was widely considered a “touchdown” hire, this
move falls into the third-and-long category.
The rookie coach either finds a way to convert
under pressure, or rookie general manager Reggie McKenzie will be
forced to punt.
Punting, in this instance, is as bad as
fumbling.
McKenzie, you see, fairly breezed into this
massive undertaking, the only person interviewed by neophyte owner
Mark Davis. Though Reggie came to Oakland with solid credentials as
a personnel evaluator, having been a key member of a fine front
office in Green Bay, his resume as an identifier of executive
talent was a blank slate.
The presumption, though, was that during 20
seasons of NFL moving and shaking, he surely had become acquainted
with someone he thought would make a fine coach.
That possibility excited the fan base, which for
so many years watched Al Davis, Mark’s father and the longtime
former owner who died in October, make a series of uninspired hires
– from Norv Turner to Art Shell (for a second time) to Lane Kiffin
to Tom Cable.
It appeared in Hue Jackson, who succeeded Cable,
that Davis finally had found a coach with the goods to energize his
offense and resuscitate the franchise. Jackson’s Raiders went 8-8
and sold out O.co Coliseum for all eight of their home games for
the first time since the team’s return to Oakland in 1995.
Though it was too early to draw conclusions, for
a variety of reasons, including injuries and Hue’s own
impetuousness, Jackson may have been onto something.
Whatever it might have been, though, was
undermined by a toothless defensive unit coached by a staff hired
by Al Davis.
Jackson expressed a desire to assemble his own
staff, only to be handed his walking papers by McKenzie.
That alone suggested Reggie either had a
candidate he believed was superior or was convinced he could find a
better head coach.
This is McKenzie’s only chance to make a first
impression. Raiders fans, giddy with the idea that someone other
than Al Davis was in position to dictate the direction of the
franchise, figured Reggie would hire a hot candidate or the kind of
brand-name coach that Davis avoided.
Some longed for the improbable second coming of
Jon Gruden, which McKenzie shot down with laughter. Others
anticipated the hiring of one of two Packers assistants, defensive
coordinator Dom Capers, a twice-fired head coach; or linebackers
coach Winston Moss, a former Raider who some league insiders don’t
think is ready to be a coordinator.
Though McKenzie reached out to others, including
Marty Mornhinweg (Eagles offensive coordinator), Mike Tice
(recently promoted to Bears OC), Pete Carmichael Jr. (Saints OC)
and Todd Bowles (former Miami interim coach), Allen apparently
separated himself.
Allen, who spent 2011 as Denver’s DC, has no
known previous ties to McKenzie. The G.M. told Comcast SportsNet
that he would meet Allen for a second interview on Tuesday night in
Mobile, Ala., where most NFL coaches and personnel officials have
convened for the Senior Bowl.
McKenzie implied that Allen could get the job as
early as Wednesday. The interview on Tuesday must have gone better
than expected.
Allen didn’t enter the process with instant name
recognition. He was a defensive back at Texas A&M who couldn’t
cut it in the NFL. He’s 39 and four seasons removed from being the
assistant defensive-line coach in Atlanta. He’s the DC for a head
coach, John Fox, whose background is defense.
Yet Allen did an impressive job in his one
season with the Broncos, coaxing a mixed bag of talent into a solid
unit, pushing the team into the playoffs. If few noticed it was
because the spotlight in Denver never left a certain quarterback
who was trapped in a vortex of national debate.
“He’s intense, he’s detailed, he knows football,
he’s a great teacher,” Champ Bailey, Denver’s veteran cornerback,
said of Allen in November. “I like the way he explains things
because he makes it to where you can understand what he means.
“He knows exactly how to talk to his
players.”
Allen could be the next Mike Tomlin, a
calculated risk that pays off. He could be the next Raheem Morris,
a reach that needed more experience.
Either way, Allen will be perceived as Reggie’s
guy. And Reggie, having boldly whacked Jackson without so much as a
trial season, needs a big play.
