The expected is now official.
The Raiders fired head coach Dennis Allen Monday night, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area has confirmed.
The story was first reported by Fox Sports' Jay Glazer.
The Raiders fell to 0-4 with a humiliating 38-14 loss to the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. That's when owner Mark Davis made the decision, but a source confirms that that general manager Reggie McKenzie swung the axe. He informing Allen he would no longer be the Raiders head coach less than three years after hiring him to help turn the Raiders around. That never happened. While talent was often an issue, Allen never showed signs of progress in the win column.
[REWIND: Allen on his way out of town?]
Allen was 8-28 in two-plus seasons and lost his final 10 games.
The Raiders originally planned to make offensive line coach Tony Sparano interim head coach, but a source informs CSN reporter Fallon Smith that the Raiders are opening up the debate. Sparano remains in the discussion, but offensive coordinator Greg Olson and offensive assistant Al Saunders could also be in-house options. The Raiders will have time to adjust to that person during a bye week before hosting the San Diego Chargers on Oct. 12.
NFL sources confirmed to CSN Bay Area that Allen was in hot water after a Week 2 loss to the Houston Texans and was likely to be fired after the Dolphins loss in London.
The Raiders held high hopes for the 2014 season after an influx of well-known veteran talent and a solid draft class. Injuries tore at a relatively thin roster, and those healthy bodies never played well as a cohesive unit.
Despite great effort and a strong desire to turn this franchise around, Allen was never able to fix the Raiders' problems. He spent two years working with lackluster talent, and the offseason’s veteran acquisitions haven’t been the dominant players they were for previous teams.
The Raiders were rarely competitive during his time in Oakland, and struggled to perform well in the clutch. Davis considered firing Allen after a 4-12 campaign in 2013, but chose continuity over great change. General manager Reggie McKenzie asked for patience after he digging the Silver and Black out of salary-cap ruin. He got it, but general manager and head coach could not right the ship fast enough.
[BAIR: Allen's job security hot topic after Raiders lose in London]
McKenzie hired Allen in 2012, after just one season as Denver Broncos defensive coordinator. At the time he was the NFL’s youngest head coach. He also spent five seasons honing his coaching philosophy under Sean Peyton in New Orleans, and was respected as a bright defensive mind.
Allen’s defenses were never dominant during his head coaching tenure. They struggled to prevent points and create turnovers. They ranked No. 28 in scoring defense in 2012, No. 29 in 2013 and are No. 24 four games into this season. Run defense was a major problem this year, which kept the Raiders out of most games.
Allen was the 18th head coach in franchise history and the seventh in the last 12 seasons. The Raiders have struggled mightily in that span, prompting Davis to engage in another head-coaching search to find a savior this franchise has struggled to find.
