According to multiple reports, the Raiders hired Dennis Allen as head coach on Tuesday night.

Allen spent this past season in Denver, impressively transforming a statistically awful defense into a much-improved unit.

He’s reportedly already informed the Broncos of his decision; I’d imagine they’re not too thrilled that he landed in the same division.

Tabbed as one of the hottest prospects heading into the offseason, the 39-year-old Allen becomes the second-youngest coach in the NFL, and the eighth in team history.

Before his time in the Mile High City, Allen bounced around the league, mostly as a defensive assistant. You’d be hard-pressed to say he’s overqualified for the gig, though he’s been regarded as a very good coach.

In Oakland, Allen will inherit a defense that, while talented, ranked 29th both in points and yards allowed. His pedigree is a breath of fresh air for the franchise, as he’s the first head man since John Madden in 1969 to sport a defensive background.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports, via two league sources, that Packers assistant coach Winston Moss is the current “frontrunner” to become the Raiders’ next head coach.

Of course, the position opened up on Tuesday, when newly-minted general manager Reggie McKenzie quickly got to work, firing Hue Jackson after a tumultuous end to an 8-8 (and playoff-less) season.

It’s easy to justify McKenzie’s first official act as GM.

Although Jackson ran a creative offense, maximizing the potential of the running game, he mortgaged the future with his midseason trade for then-retired quarterback Carson Palmer, surrendering two high-round draft picks in the process. A season-ending press conference, in which he essentially threw the entire team — but not himself — under the bus, probably sealed his fate.

McKenzie was the former director of football operations in Green Bay, so it’s no surprise he’s raiding the cupboard there. Four of the five candidates to land the job are current Pack employees: Moss, secondary coach Darren Perry, offensive coordinator Joe Philbin and quarterbacks coach Tom Clements.

The only non-cheesehead candidate is Todd Bowles, who had a three-game stint as Dolphins head coach in 2011.

Moss, who also coaches inside linebackers, played for the Raiders (the LA variety) from 1991-94, and has been with the Packers for six seasons. Oakland was hot on his trail for the last few years, so it makes a ton of sense.

Nothing is official, and may not be until sometime next week, but here’s my bold prediction: The next head coach of the Silver & Black will be departing Mike McCarthy’s staff.

Going out on a limb, I know.

Considering his history of on-field transgressions, it’s almost like he’s expecting it at this point.

According to Bill Williamson of ESPN.com, Seymour was fined $30,000 by the NFL for punching Dolphins guard Richie Incognito during the third quarter of last Sunday’s loss to Miami.

Following the personal foul, Seymour was ejected, the third time that’s happened in his three seasons with Oakland. His ever-growing fine total — for this season alone — is now up to $60K.

This isn’t the first time the 32-year-old has taken a literal jab at someone, either. Last year, Seymour was docked $25,000 for hitting Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the helmet.

The butt of many a joke over the years, Oakland seems to have finally turned the corner, and yet one of their own of years past — Warren Sapp — continues to trash them on a weekly basis.

Sapp, a staple of the NFL Network and Showtime’s Inside the NFL, criticizes the Raiders any chance he can get and frequently picks against them, despite having played his final four seasons with the Silver and Black.

One current Raider — receiver Chaz Schilens — won’t stand for Sapp’s disparaging remarks any longer, and fired back at the former defensive tackle Tuesday.

“Warren Sapp is a fool,” Schilens said. “That dude is stupid. He played for the Raiders 20 years ago, no one cares what he says, nobody likes him, he’s a joke … Everyone on this team thinks he’s a joke. So, he can make his predictions next week, and we’ll watch ‘em and we’ll go out and win. … That’s about it.”

Upon learning of Schilens’ comments, Sapp responded on Twitter with a barrage of tweets, poking fun at the unheralded wideout and his inability to stay on the field.

“Ok Just Woke Up From My Tuesday Slumber. Who’s Chaz Schilens ?? Oh Wasn’t He Just On DWTS? Did He Win??”

“My Bad! I Looked Ole Chaz Up, 8 & 6 Starts His 1st Two Yrs. ONE Start In Last 2yrs, Better Start a Career Before Its Over!”

“And someone tell Chaz I left High School 20yrs ago! And in my 4th year I had Pineapple in my Diet!”

If you’re wondering what “pineapple” refers to … I’ll allow Mr. Sapp to clarify.

That’s a Pro-Bowl! Walking In Pineapple Fields in Hawaii #PickYourOwn & Take It Home! #OgStatus

Another day, another war of words issued in 140 characters or less. Such is life within the NFL nowadays. But, hey, let’s give Sapp a little credit; at least didn’t recommend suicide to Schilens. That’s progress from Monday.

Per ESPN.com, Jackson criticized the officiating crew from Sunday’s 27-21 win over the Vikings, saying he “truly felt like it was a little unfair” that the Raiders were flagged 12 times for 117 yards.

Oakland drew four personal fouls from referee Jerome Boger and his crew, but Jackson feels there may have been a bias because his first-place squad is the most-penalized in the NFL.

After witnessing what he presumably deems as ticky-tack calls, the first-year coach will “defend” his team by consulting the league office Monday.

“I know everyone says we’re the most-penalized team in football and that’s a fact, and I’m not running from that,” Jackson said. “But there’s no way, some things that happened today on that football field, I question. I just do, and I have to, and I’m going to defend my team. It’s time that I do that.”

While it’s admirable that Jackson is sticking up for his players, most of the penalties were correctly enforced as Oakland played sloppy and undisciplined throughout the contest, committing false-starts and jumping offsides.

But, as the expression goes, it’s always better to win ugly than lose pretty.

Reportedly, Oakland has a certain someone in mind for the job, but need to work diligently if they’re going to get him off of his couch and into the Black Hole.

Yahoo! Sports’ Jason Cole, citing a team source, reports that the Raiders were “trying hard” Sunday night to trade for ‘retired’ Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer. The league’s trade deadline is Tuesday afternoon.

Although Cole’s source “highly doubts” Cincy owner Mike Brown would deal Palmer, Raiders coach Hue Jackson “hit the phones quickly” upon learning of Campbell’s prognosis, and could have an edge in landing Palmer considering his prior connections with the Bengals. Jackson was their wide receivers coach from 2004-2006.

The Palmer-Brown standoff was one of the most intriguing storylines earlier in the offseason, with the 31-year-old requesting a trade and threatening to never step foot onto Paul Brown Stadium again if he doesn’t get one. Brown hasn’t budged, even when Palmer supposedly asked again this week to be dealt.

Even if Brown were willing to move Palmer, Oakland might not have the proper ammunition to execute said trade. Cole threw around the idea of the Raiders offering a conditional third-round draft pick in 2013 that could escalate to a second or first-rounder, depending on Palmer’s performance.

However, in all probability, it’s inevitably a moot point. Brown seems entrenched in his stance, and certainly wouldn’t give up his biggest bargaining chip to another contending team in the AFC. At the end of the season, both squads could be battling for a wildcard spot and Palmer would love nothing more than to stick it to Brown.

Stranger things have definitely happened, though, so only the remaining time until the deadline will tell whether or not this comes to fruition. All things considered, the Raider faithful should not hold their breath.

According to the Raiders’ official website, owner Al Davis passed away on Saturday at the age of 82. No cause of death was given, and a statement from the team is expected to be released later in the day.

Davis started out as a coach, general manager, and commissioner for the AFL before becoming the Raiders’ principal owner in 1972. Since then, Oakland has captured four AFC titles and three Super Bowl championships as an iconic team of a previous era.

Davis was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992 and was one of the remaining members of the AFL’s “Foolish Club”, along with Titans owner Bud Adams and Bills owner Ralph Wilson.

Many looked upon him as ‘Crazy Al’ for his outlandish statements toward the league and eye-raising roster moves, but the NFL truly wouldn’t have been what it is today without his contributions and efforts. What’s fitting is the last Raiders victory he witnessed came against the New York Jets, a team that — once upon a time — was a bitter rival of Davis’.

It’s hard to imagine a Raiders game without Davis in attendance, though now he gets to watch over them from the best seat in the house — the big luxury suite in the sky.

Per CSNBayArea.com, Jackson said Monday that he’s not shying away from his original prediction of an AFC West divisional crown.

We’re going to win the AFC West. We’re going to do everything we can to get in the playoffs and go challenge for a Super Bowl. I am not backing down from that,” Jackson said.

This comes just one day after the Raiders were beaten handily by the Patriots, 31-19, sending them to a 2-2 mark through the first quarter of the season. The loss made evident plenty of holes throughout the team, all of which need to be fixed if his Rex Ryan-like claim is going to come true. Jackson acknowledges the issues and swears to correct them over the remaining 12 games.

“I expected to be 4-0,” Jackson said. “I really did. I’m not going to back off of that, and we’re not. We’re 2-2, so I’m disappointed but not discouraged because I know what’s in the locker room. I’ve said this before: I have to keep coaching and keep pushing and keep grinding on these players. And these players have to keep responding, and they’ve responded every time I’ve asked them to. Maybe not as fast as I want them to, maybe not as fast as everybody wants them to, but I know the message is there, and it’s clear.”

The Raiders have definitely shown flashes of brilliance this season, trumping Ryan and the Jets in Oakland’s home opener, 34-24, two weeks ago. The team has improved ten-fold, spearheaded by a dominant running attack and a swarming defense. Considering the Chiefs and Broncos look dreadful thus far, Oakland has a legitimate chance of challenging the Chargers for the West.

Jackson will get another chance to show his mettle this week as the Raiders travel to Houston to take on the Texans. If they can escape Reliant Stadium with a W, and with the Browns and Chiefs to follow, the Raiders may head into their Week 8 bye in excellent shape, inching Jackson’s premonition one step closer to reality.

As in the hot dogs Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez scarfed down in the midst of a blowout win. It happened two seasons ago, and Jackson wasn’t even a part of the organization then, but he knows all about ‘Hot Dog Gate’.

Per ESPNNewYork.com, Jackson mustered up the strength to talk about the hot dog incident, and how he won’t indulge in one this Sunday, when they get their rematch with Sanchez & Co.

“The hot dog? I don’t eat hot dogs during the game, but it sounded like somebody did,” Jackson told the Oakland media Wednesday. “That was his prerogative back then, I wasn’t here. I hope we can make it more interesting for him so he doesn’t have to eat hot dogs. So, hopefully, we can take the mustard, the relish, and the onions — all that — and put it away and play a little football.”

In 2009, Gang Green traveled to the Black Hole and dismantled the Raiders, 38-0. As the game was about to mercifully come to a close, Sanchez was caught by CBS cameras sneakily snacking on a hot dog, a delicious choice he’s since regretted.

“It wasn’t very respectful to the game and other guys playing, and that’s not the way I wanted it to be, and that’s not the kind of player I am,” Sanchez said Wednesday. “So it’s a mistake you learn from.”

He did his best not to outright admit this is bulletin-board material for his bunch, but it sounds like something the Raiders are going to relish in leading up to kickoff.

“I can’t let all my secrets out. I can’t do that,” he said. “The guy had a hot dog. Was it a Wienershnitzel or where’d it come from? I don’t know. It looked to pretty good by the way he was eating it, so I’m sure we’ll have some fun this week.”

Jackson is a lot like Jets coach Rex Ryan in one aspect: he’s an outspoken figure who likes to set an edge for his squad each week. There is absolutely no doubt he’s playing the disrespect card in team meetings, especially with this game being their home opener.

Oakland, and especially owner Al Davis, would like nothing more than to exact their revenge on the Jets, and put themselves back on the NFL map with a convincing win over an elite team.

Per the Oakland Tribune, Janikowski has been charged with misdemeanor battery and false imprisonment against a woman, Syrena Nicholson, in Walnut Creek, California last year.

According to court documents, Nicholson claimed Oakland’s long-time kicker “did unlawfully violate (her) personal liberty” and “did willfully and unlawfully use force and violence upon (her) person” on September 24, 2010. Janikowski wasn’t arrested at the time, and no motive for his actions was given.

The Raiders have not commented on the matter.

Although a trial date has yet to be set, Janikowski faces a maximum of 18 months in jail and a $3,000 fine should these charges stick.

The normally mild-mannered Janikowski has kept himself out of the police blotter for the better part of the last decade. His previous rap sheet included four arrests during his time at Florida State, a DUI charge in 2002, and a bar fight which occurred less than a year later.

There’s no telling yet what implications (if any) these accusations will have on the rest of his 2011 season, but SeaBass is fully expected to kick against the Bills in Sunday’s Week 2 matchup.