"He must have a military background, that's the first thing I thought of. Must have been in the military or had that in his family background, some way or another. That's the way he carries himself," cornerback Andre Goodman said. "His thing is discipline, discipline, discipline. Do everything right, all the time, and never let up."

This is the quote from the Denver Post article by Lindsay H. Jones that Ghost Raider posted that really makes me excited about the future with Dennis Allen as our head coach. I know for a fact that I am not the only one that had their attention captured by that particular quote. Those are the kind of words that we need to hear our own players speaking about our new coach. Even more importantly than speaking those words is embracing them and having the effect of them show on the field.

I like this hire from Reggie McKenzie because it addresses the two major problems that cost us a shot at the playoffs this past year under Hue Jackson: Penalties and Defense. We needed this type of military discipline head coach to come in and make the players accountable. Each and every one of those players needs to know that bone head penalties are what cost us games.

When you extend a team's drive because you decided you needed to hit that Quarterback after he let go of the ball, you are handing that other team an extra opportunity. Anybody who does anything competitively knows that when you give your opponent an extra opportunity when they thought they were done you are going to pay for it. Now we seem to have a coach that is going to make sure that each player on our team knows that these things can not happen anymore. It is up to Allen to make sure that it is ingrained in our players in a way that it has never been. It is a tough job, hopefully he is the right man for it.

The fact that Dennis Allen is a defensive coach is a great thing for our next head coach though. Nothing says this is a different team more than doing something that has not been done since the 60's. It still leaves major questions unanswered about who is going to be running the offense. I have all my fingers and toes crossed that we can retain Al Saunders. Coming on to our team and showing the team he is willing to work with them by keeping their offensive coordinator would not be a bad way to gain the team's trust.

Al knows our players and can keep some continuity with our offense. He is a high intensity coach that would mix well with Allen's fast and aggressive style. Lets all hope that Dennis Allen will agree that this is the guy to run our offense, because (as recently pointed out to me by an excellent fellow poster Lakers007Raiders) too much change can definitely be detrimental. A whole new offense does not necessarily spell doom, but it does have a higher probability of failing in the first year of implementing it.

The thing that does disappoint me about this hire is that he is a rookie again. He is going to be making some of the same mistakes that we have despised for too long. That means there will be frustrating moments that veteran coaches might not have put us through. Oh well, there is nothing we can do now. This is the path that we have chosen and sometimes it works out pretty damn well, like Jim Harbaugh with our Bay Area rivals. Sometimes it does not as shown with our very own pinstripe suit wearing former coach Jackson.

The start of our new era arrives with Dennis Allen as Head Coach. Lets give him a warm welcome and hope that he is capable of solving our greatest weaknesses. He will have to learn quickly that the refs really do hate us and it will take extra clean play to wipe out many of the penalties that are called on the Silver and Black. You have a lot of work to do Mr. Allen, please give us your all and prove to the world that we belong back on top. We have been through way too much to start losing all over again.

The coaching search is over. The Oakland Raiders reportedly have their man, Dennis Allen.

Well, it looks like Dennis Allen will be our new head coach. The following was written for the Denver Post at the beginning of the 2011 season:

Over the course of more than seven hours one day in January, John Fox and Dennis Allen sat at a table in the den of Fox's home in Charlotte, N.C., and discovered they were kindred football spirits.

Both were college safeties who started their coaching careers as low-level defensive coaches in the college ranks. Fox was 39 years old when he got his first NFL defensive coordinator job, with the Oakland Raiders in 1994. Allen was 38 and the secondary coach for the New Orleans Saints when Fox asked permission to interview him for his first defensive coordinator job.

Fox's wife, Robin, turned the den in their home in North Carolina into a makeshift office — complete with whiteboards and a full supply of dry-erase markers — so Fox could interview Allen, a man who, until that day, he had known only afar and by reputation.

"I had heard good things about him, and then once you put him on the board and you listen to what his philosophies are and you hear similarities that fit me, I thought it was a perfect fit for us," Fox said Friday. "I think a lot of times, you're just looking for young, energetic, sharp guys that want to be the best."

Fox hired Allen on Jan. 24, making Allen the Broncos' sixth defensive coordinator in six seasons.

"It was one of those things where it was a whirlwind deal," Allen said. "If you do a good job, eventually people recognize you. I believe that, and I think that's what probably happened. I was surprised because I had no idea any of that was happening, but once it did happen, I was excited about the opportunity."

A huge challenge right away

Allen arrived with perhaps the biggest challenge of any of the Broncos' new coaches. He would have to design and install a new defensive scheme — Fox and Allen wanted a 4-3 instead of the 3-4 that former head coach Josh McDaniels ran — and he would have to do it without the benefit of spring workouts because of the NFL lockout.

Though he had never been a coordinator before, Allen commanded respect from his players almost immediately.

Defensive players said they trusted that their new head coach, with Fox's own background as a defensive coordinator, had selected the right guy to put in charge of turning around a unit that finished last in the NFL in total defense last year.

"He must have a military background, that's the first thing I thought of. Must have been in the military or had that in his family background, some way or another. That's the way he carries himself," cornerback Andre Goodman said. "His thing is discipline, discipline, discipline. Do everything right, all the time, and never let up."

While polling players for words to describe Allen's personality and coaching style, three came up every time: intense, discipline and teacher.

Players said they respected Allen's attention to detail when it came to installing the new defense and his ability to make each player understand his new role.

"You know how you get a teacher that's real stern but not over the top? That's how he is," veteran cornerback Champ Bailey said.

Intense, militaristic coaching style

Anyone who came to watch Broncos training camp could see Allen's intensity during practice. He stalks from position group to position group, arms folded, overseeing drills. He claps his hands enthusiastically at good plays, shouts louder after poor ones. Allen's focus is on effort and on eliminating mistakes. Players had better run during full-speed practices and jog during walkthroughs. If a guy makes an error, he can expect to see it on the big screen later in meetings.

"Listen, I don't believe in berating guys. Don't believe in talking down to them. We work together. They don't work for me or us as coaches. But at the end of the day, we're going to point out problems and we're going to get them corrected, because if you don't get them corrected, they're going to fester, and eventually they're going to get you beat," Allen said. "We point out of there is an issue with effort. If there is an issue with an assignment, we make sure we bring it to their attention, and make sure we get it corrected."

Freedom to run the defense

Allen already has an arsenal of sayings that have already become ingrained in players' heads. Defensive end Elvis Dumervil laughed when asked to rattle off the Allen-isms after practice this week.

" 'See the ball.' 'Turn your head.' 'Strike fear in them.' 'Attack, attack,' " Dumervil said. "I can't say all the other ones."

Fox is involved in defensive game-planning, but he lets Allen run the defensive practices during the week and call the plays on game days. The four preseason games were Allen's first time calling an entire game. He said he will consult with Fox on the sideline from time to time, but that he appreciates that Fox has "given me the latitude to run the defense the way I want to run it."

"The fact that he's a defensive coach, a defensive mind, that's always a comforting thing, especially when you're a young coordinator doing it for the first time," Allen said. "Having him there to bounce ideas off, he'll come in and throw some ideas off, he'll come in and throw some ideas at me, and we were able to sort some things out. At the end of the day, it's our defense. And it's going to be combination of the things he likes and believes in, and mine."

Allen's first test as defensive coordinator will be a big one. The Raiders, more so than any other team last year, exposed the weaknesses in the Broncos' 2010 defense, racking up 98 points and nearly 600 rushing yards in two games.

Players believe that their new coordinator is just one of the reasons why things will be different.

"We needed a makeover, all the way around. I can't say there is one aspect of the defense that we can hang our hat on from last year," Goodman said. "He's definitely a fresh feel and exactly what we needed."

It sounds like Reggie is trying to change the historic culture of the Raiders. The lack of discipline seems to have fueled his search for a HC.

The Raider coaching search keeps on winding, but now it appears to be narrowing the wind. They are reportedly going to bring Denver Broncos defensive coordinator in for a second interview.

This process is really dragging out—not that that is a bad thing—it is just a little surprising. Once the Packers lost, it seemed likely that the coaching search would soon be over. Wrong!

Quick side story: Due to an amazingly brutal storm that produced a panic inducing two inches of snow I lost power for five days. I was cast into the dark ages with only the rudimentary text messaging system to connect me to the outside world.

In between hunting and foraging for nuts, berries and little overweight children I would check my messages and kept expecting to see news of a new coaching hire, and when none appeared, I assumed I must have just fallen out of the loop somehow.

Then when the gods bestowed power upon me once again I was shocked to see that they hadn't hired a coach, but a front runner had appeared, and that is the above mentioned Mr. Allen. End of side story

On the surface, Allen seems like a great candidate. He was in his first year with the Broncos, and his first as a DC in the NFL, and that defense outperformed their miserable expectations. That defense has some talent, but it is also woefully incomplete.

Denver finished 22nd in rushing yards allowed, which is fairly unimpressive until you consider that was a defense that had nothing but question marks at defensive tackle, and pass rushers on the edge.

I won't take much time reviewing the season here, I want to get down to business. This is my favorite part of the season, the offseason, which unfortunately, has started early for Oakland yet again. However, there's some good looking FA's out there at areas of need for Oakland.

With I believe three or four draft picks (depending on compensatory picks for Miller and Nnamdi), this team will definitely have to build through free agency. It'll be interesting to see what the new coaching staff will have in mind whenever they're assembled. Maybe a 3-4 defense? Maybe a West Coast offense? Who knows? So I'll just delve right in on with my preferred possibilities.

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We are not lacking candidates to replace Hue Jackson. Reggie Mckenzie is doing everything he can to make the right decision and is moving fairly quickly considering the scope of the search. I am so anxious to hear who he hires that it is hard to wait. I understand it is going to take a considerable amount of time to do the due diligence on everybody though. This is going to be his most important decision of his GM era. The first coach you bring in does so much for people's faith in your decision making and he knows he needs to be careful when selecting his coach. Whoever we hire we want them to be here for the long haul, stability starts with the correct coach for the team.

I have compiled a list of candidates and have stated my own opinion on each. I have separated them into separate categories; Already interviewed / scheduled interviews, experienced head coaches, inexperienced head coaches, coaches we can not interview yet and Super Bowl Winning head coaches. I am also including a poll at the end to see who the Nation is most interested in, but I am excluding the Super Bowl coaches from the list because they would sway the poll too much. Take the Jump to read on!

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Reggie McKenzie said at his press conference that he wanted to bring in "his guy" but with the way this "short list" is growing...he seems to know a lot of guys. I applaud McKenzie for looking diligently for coaching talent around the league and keeping his promise of making this a quick decision by lining up these interviews fairly quickly. I was originally worried that McKenzie would just wait for the Packers to be done with their season and just bring in Moss and hire him on the spot without doing his homework and going with a comfortable choice instead of an informed choice.

The latest news has 2 more coaching candidates that Reggie is looking to have a chat with...Mike Tice and Marty Mornhinweg.

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This is an interesting move, but both Adam Schefter and Bill Williamson are reporting that we're interviewing Denver OC Mike McCoy and DC Dennis Allen for our head coaching job.

Were Al still running the show I'd be saying this is a typical Al Davis move - picking the brains of a couple of well regarded assistants from the division winners under the pretext of an interview - and it's possible that Reggie may have learnt this trick from Ron Wolf. However, let's assume that it's a legit deal here.

Allen's served as defensive coordinator in Donkeytown for one year, having previously been the Saints' secondary coach. He's also previously been an assistant D-line coach in NOLA, a quality control coach/defensive assistant in Atlanta and the secondary coach of Tulsa University. He likes to attack on defense - a nice change from Panda's pillow D - and will concede yards and the odd big play to force turnovers and sacks and prevent touchdowns. I have to assume part of the reason Denver's D went from historically terrible to good in one shortened offseason is down to him (with Von Miller and a healthy Dumervil playing their part).

McCoy has been OC and QB coach in Denver for three years - he was originally hired by Josh McDaniels but this was his first year calling plays. Before that, he'd been with the Carolina Panthers for eight years and worked his way up - this was probably why Fox kept him around when he came to Denver from Carolina. With Kyle Orton the Broncos were running mostly a spread passing attack, but because Tebow is a muppet McCoy brought in that stupid option offense. I actually like this - it shows he can adapt his schemes to the personnel around him, which of course was a strength of Hue's. We're also not the only team to show interest in him - the Dolphins have set up an interview for their HC slot.

Neither of them would be at the top of my list, but Allen in particular wouldn't be a bad hire IMO. I really want to see us get in an aggressive, defensive minded head coach (Spagnuolo would still be my first choice, given that I reckon he got a pretty raw deal in St Louis) who recognises that it's probably best to leave well enough alone with the offense. I.e. either re-hire Al Saunders or get in an OC who knows the Air Coryell system which was the basis of our passing attack.

And just to throw my 2c into the "Bring Back Chucky" well - I don't want it. Just like I don't believe in going back to an ex years later no matter how great it was at the time, especially if you (or your team) has changed as much as we have in that time and gone through what we've gone through. Gruden is a west coast offense guy and Palmer would look even worse in the WCO than he did in Hue's offense. Plus, I'm still not convinced of his ability to make an average team great - and let's face it, at this point in time, we are an average team. When he had average teams in Tampa Bay and a significant role in personnel, he struggled. Combine this with the fact that he has a nice cushy job on ESPN right now and a young family, and I don't see why he would even be interested in returning to coaching no matter how much unfinished business he may have in Oakland.

It's time for the Raiders and the Nation to look forward. Whoever our new head coach may be, let's hope he can take us there.

Screwfish out.