The Oakland Raiders fired head coach Dennis Allen on orders from owner Mark Davis after the team lost in London to the Dolphins in embarrassing fashion on Sunday and they also lost starting quarterback Derek Carr in the process, meaning Matt Schaub or Matt McGloin could take over as the starter and now Tony Sparano is the interim coach and Jon Gruden is a future target.
According to Pro Football Talk, an AP reporter wrote on Sunday night that the Raiders were preparing to fire head coach Dennis Allen after losing to the Dolphins in London. The team is now 0-4 and has looked horrible this season and while it's likely that Allen will get fired, the AP report came under fire itself and was later corrected by the reporter, who pulled back the story after saying that the rumors" had not been confirmed by the AP".
Allen was the coach most likely on the hot seat coming into the season and this week's game was not an endorsement for his job security. The report was walked back, but ESPN.com writer Bill Williamson writes that this week is the perfect time if the Raiders want to make a change. The team may be without QB Derek Carr next game and they are coming into a bye week after playing in London, meaning the team would have some time to get its ducks in a row if they let go of Allen.
The team is a mess all over the field and that doesn't even include the fact that they were torched in London. The prized rookie quarterback Derek Carr is injured and the prized trade from the offseason in Matt Schaub is nowhere to be found. Schaub was expected to be the starter to open the season, but that was nocked aside for injuries and other reasons and now the team has Matt McGloin under center for the moment after Carr injured his knee and ankle.
The team has a bye week now, but if Carr isn't ready to go, it could be McGloin back under center. The team has also has plenty of disappointing performances, including from Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew, who both signed as free agents in the offseason. James Jones has been the best signing so far for the team after they brought in a number of players, but he's basically been it. Denarius Moore came into the season as an option to be the number one receiver, but he ended up as a healthy scratch for the London game and that is not a good look for general manager Reggie McKenzie or head coach Dennis Allen.
The Raiders have gone 4-12 over the past two seasons and many felt that they would be better this year after signing so many free agents. So far that has not worked out and they scored just seven points over the final three quarters and they allowed 35 points combined in the second and third quarters to get blown out by Miami. The team now has a bye week and could make a change, but that will depend on what Mark Davis sees this team doing the rest of the season and what he thinks of Dennis Allen.