10 Interesting Facts About Oakland Raiders Head Coach Dennis Allen

Dennis Allen is the Head Coach for the Oakland Raiders. Here are 10 interesting facts about him.

Dennis Allen who was born on September 22, 1972 in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the Head Coach for the Oakland Raiders and has been coaching in college and in the NFL since 1996.

10 Interesting Facts About Oakland Raiders Head Coach Dennis Allen

Facts #1:

Dennis Allen was born into a football family. His dad, Grady Allen, played for the Atlanta Falcons as a linebacker for five years. He died of cardiac arrest on December 4, 2012.

Facts #2:

Dennis Allen calls his aggressive defensive play calling, “The bend but not break” defense. It gives up generous yardage on some plays but capitalizes by more sacks and turnovers.

Facts #3:

Dennis Allen played for his father's alma mater, Texas A&M Aggies as a defensive back and was part of the historic defense, named “The Wrecking Crew.”

Facts #4:

Dennis Allen has served under 5 NFL head coaches: Dan Reeves, Wade Phillips and Jim Mora all Head Coach of the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton, and Denver Broncos John Fox.

Facts #5:

Dennis Allen started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater Texas A&M as a coach with the Secondary for four years from 1996-1999. In 2000, he was hired by the University of Tulsa to be their secondary coach and stayed two seasons.

Facts #6:

Dennis Allen in 2002 received his first job in the NFL as a Defensive Quality Control/ Defensive Assistant coach under Dan Reeves. He stayed in Atlanta for three years.

Facts #7:

Dennis Allen for four years starting in 2006 was the Assistant Defensive Line coach and then promoted to the Secondary coach under Sean Payton from 2008-2010.

Facts #8:

Dennis Allen was hired in 2011 by John Elway to become the Defensive Coordinator of the Denver Broncos. The 2010 Denver defense was ranked almost last in every statistic. Huge strides were made that showed a quicker defense with more blitzing controlling the middle of he field. The Broncos overall defense was ranked 24^th in 2011. The run defense was ranked 22nd and the pass defense was ranked 18th but the season was more about the Tim Tebow comebacks than the defensive improvement.

Facts #9:

Dennis Allen was hired by GM Reggie McKenzie on January 24, 2012. He is the 18^th head coach in Raiders history and the first defensively oriented head coach since John Madden in the late 1970s.

Facts #10:

Dennis Allen in his first two years as a Head Coach had terrible years finishing 3^rd and 4^th with identical 4-12 years. A QB controversy and salary cap issues prevailed. It is a do or die year for Dennis Allen in 2014. If the Raiders don't win half the games for the season, expect a new head coach in Oakland for the 2015 season.

Sources: Oakland Raiders Team Page, Famous Birthdays, The Denver Post, Inside the Oakland Raiders, Bronco Talk, NFL, The Raider Nation Times