While there is no official word, it appears the Oakland Raiders have hired Denver defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who already said good bye to some Broncos staff members, The Sports Xchange has learned.

New Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie reportedly offered the job to Allen on Tuesday night in a second meeting between the two, this one in Mobile, Ala., where both are attending the Senior Bowl practices.

Allen replaces Hue Jackson, who was fired after going 8-8 in his lone season on the job. The Raiders lost four of their last five games and missed a chance to win the AFC West when they were beaten at home by the San Diego Chargers, 38-26, on the final day of the season.

McKenzie, hired Jan. 5, opted to go with a defensive-oriented coach and that is not a surprise considering he was a linebacker for the Raiders from 1985-88 and Oakland gave up an average of 36.5 points in their final four losses of 2011. Allen becomes the first Raiders' head coach with a defensive background since Hall of Famer John Madden was hired in 1969.

The Raiders have had nine consecutive non-winning seasons and have not been to the playoffs since 2002, when they lost to Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl.

In Allen's first season as an NFL coordinator, the Broncos defense went from last in both total yards (390.8) and points allowed (29.4) in 2010 to 20th (357.8) and 24th (24.4) in those categories. The Broncos won the AFC West despite an 8-8 record then upset the Pittsburgh Steelers in a wild card playoff before losing to the New England Patriots in the divisional round.

The 39-year-old Allen spent 10 seasons as an assistant coach in the NFL. He was a defensive assistant for the Atlanta Falcons from 2002-05 then served for five years on the New Orleans Saints' staff, two as assistant defensive line coach (2006-07) and three as secondary coach (2008-10), before being hired by John Fox when he became the Broncos' coach prior to last season.

Allen, the son of former Falcons' linebacker Grady Allen (1968-72), was a four-year letterman as a safety at Texas A&M and was signed as an undrafted free agent in 1996 by the Buffalo Bills, who cut him during training camp.

Allen returned to Texas A&M after being released and was a graduate assistant for the Aggies that season. He then spent four seasons as an assistant at Tulsa before making the jump to the NFL.

McKenzie reportedly interview six people for the job, including Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, Miami Dolphins secondary coach Todd Bowles (who finished the season as their interim head coach), New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. and Green Bay Packers assistant head coach/linebackers coach Winston Moss and defensive coordinator Dom Capers.

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