Dennis Allen to Raiders: Oakland Makes Surprising Move Hiring Unknown Coach

The post-Al Davis era of the Oakland Raiders has been quite a roller coaster, but the franchise is finally on a steady pace for the future after hiring former Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Dennis Allen as head coach, according to SiriusXM NFL Radio.

This is a wise move for a team that desperately needs to take the underdog, overlooked role and run with it. After sweeping the AFC West in 2010, the team stayed steady with another 8-8 record in 2011. They started off strong, but injuries across the offense, most notably to Darren McFadden, and linebacker Rolando McClain's insane run-in with the law derailed their playoff chances. 

Allen is lucky that he doesn't have to follow a relatively popular head coach in Hue Jackson, who was outed after just one season. He is able to take over for a team teetering on the brink of the playoffs as is, which many should consider lucky given the lack of draft picks in the 2012 NFL draft following the Carson Palmer trade. 

Many thought the Raiders would land an offensive-minded head coach, but this is the right move. Al Saunders is still the offensive coordinator and has done a great job guiding the offense when it's healthy. As the old saying goes, defense wins championships, and the Raiders have more concerns on that side of the rock than the other.

Allen is a coach who has studied with the likes of Wade Phillips, Sean Payton and John Fox. One could certainly do worse, that's for sure.

Although many will want to credit Tim Tebow's ability to inspire, the Broncos defense buckled down after the first month of the season and did a phenomenal job overall. Allen deserves as much credit for the turnaround as Tebow, Fox or anybody else. As long as McClain gets his head on straight, there is no doubt that Allen will be able to ride him and a strong defensive line to make a playoff push.

Furthermore, Allen is a great choice because he is already familiar with the teams in the AFC West. Not only will he know the weaknesses and strengths of the Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers, but he understands exactly what the Raiders will need to fix to get back on top of the NFL. 

He may not be a big name, but Raiders fans should be pleased with this highly underrated hiring. Allen provides the Raiders with many advantages heading into the 2012 campaign.