Allen to usher in new era at Raiders

The Oakland Raiders have appointed Dennis Allen as their new head coach to replace Hue Jackson.

The Raiders missed the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season in 2011, their record of eight wins and eight losses not good enough for Jackson to keep his job after just one season at the helm.

At 39 years of age, Allen becomes the youngest current head coach in the NFL, and said he is confident he can return the Oakland franchise to their past glories.

“The vision for the future of the Oakland Raiders is going to be just that. It is going to be a tough, smart, disciplined and committed football team,” Allen said.

“You don’t win football games in the National Football League by talent alone. There are a lot of others things that are a part of winning, those are the things that we are going to develop and the things we will preach on a day to day basis to our players.”

“We do have talented players, we have enough talent in our team to compete for a Championship and that is what our goal will be every year.”

Allen becomes the seventh man to be given the Raiders head coaching job since 2003, and the first since former team owner Al Davis died last year.

Despite only having one season of NFL-level coaching behind him – a year as defensive coordinator at the Denver Broncos – Allen said he wanted to put his own stamp on the Raiders.

“Al Davis was a big part of developing our tradition and a big part of setting the foundation for what we are and what we are going to become,” he said.

“This is a new day in Oakland Raiders football. We are progressing forward and we are going to set our own goals and aspirations in the things we want to try and get accomplished within the organisation.”

“This organisation is committed to winning, Mr Davis used to say committed to excellence, and we are committed to excellence within this organisation.”