Oakland Raiders coach Dennis Allen and owner Mark Davis are reportedly at odds over whether to retain a handful of assistant coaches. The disagreement could lead to a situation similar to Mike Munchak's with the Tennessee Titans and result in Allen being fired.
Although Allen is expected to be retained after finishing the season with a 4-12 record, he is adamant about keeping his coaching staff intact, ESPN reports.
"Allen wants to retain his assistant coaches with two-year contracts but has been met with resistance from Davis, who wants to offer one-year deals to the coaches, a league source confirmed to ESPN.com," Paul Gutierrez of ESPN wrote on Tuesday.
"... According to the source, only two of Allen's assistants - offensive coordinator Greg Olson and linebackers coach Bob Sanders - are still under contract. The contracts of everyone else, including defensive coordinator Jason Tarver, assistant head coach/offensive line coach Tony Sparano and special-teams coordinator Bobby April, are set to expire."
Munchak was fired on Saturday for reportedly refusing to make changes to his coaching staff despite the owner's insistence.
In two seasons, Allen has an 8-24 record. The Raiders signed him in January 2012 after a successful one-year stint as the Denver Broncos defensive coordinator.
Allen came under criticism for his handling of the quarterback situation this season. After trading for Matt Flynn in the offseason, Terrelle Pryor ultimately won the starting job during training camp; Pryor was eventually benched in favor of rookie Matt McGloin.
When Allen chose to start Pryor for the regular-season finale on Dec. 29, Pryor's agent accused Allen of wanting the quarterback to fall on his face.
"I think they're putting (Pryor) in hopes that he fails," Jerome Stanley told CSNBayArea.com in December. "That's what I think the coach is doing. I think they're putting him in hopes that he has a bad game, so he can then justify the Matt McGloin situation. I think that's what's going on, I do and it's ridiculous..."
