Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen to allow team coordinators to call play – NFL News
Oakland Raiders Head Coach Dennis Allen is one of the rare breeds of coaches who do not have the tendency to control each and every thing that happens around them.
These attributes of Allen were again highlighted when he announced that defensive coordinator Jason Tarver will call the defensive plays. Talking to the Oakland Tribune, Allen said:
"I've got to oversee the whole operation, and it's hard to do that when you're so focused in on one side of the ball or the other,"
The announcement came as a surprise to many, as Allen has a defensive mindset that would have helped him in calling the defence.
Allen is the first Raiders coach after the great John Madden to have a defensive mindset. He is set to start his first season having a head coach job after working many seasons as part of coaching staff for many teams.
At 39, Allen is currently the youngest head coach in the league. Allen has enjoyed the luxury of having total control over his defence during his entire coaching career.
Allen started his coaching career as an assistant at Atlanta Falcons where the head coach was Dan Reeves who was totally focused on matters related to offensive line.
Reeves’ tenure was followed up by Jim Mora who looked after both the teams but was not involved in petty matters.
In his time at New Orleans, Allen worked under Coach Sean Payton who mostly tried to run the play in the offence. Last season, Allen was part of the Denver Broncos.
At Raiders, Greg Knapp will be calling the offensive plays.
Raiders’ camp did not have this kind of atmosphere before and the players are giving positive output with this change. Punter Shane Lechler said:
"We haven't had that here, Special teams a lot of times do the dirty work, and to have him in there kind of helps out the mood of the room a little bit."
Allen is looking to improve the productivity of the team on both sides of the field rather than just putting emphasis on only one part of the game.
Tags: